


A Cold Pacifist (original work by GretelSweetz)

by chronoquairium



Series: Remaking GretelSweetz's fics [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chara just has to have the last word, Failed or Cold Relationships, Frisk dies a lot, Harsh Judgement, Pacifist Frisk, Remade from actual fic, Resentment Starts to Build, Unfinished yet Finished, kind of, permanent hiatus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:36:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 55,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronoquairium/pseuds/chronoquairium
Summary: This, as well as many others, was a fic by GretelSweetz that I loved and waited for for a long time. Then I found out that his account is gone for some reason. So I went to Google Cache to get every chapter I could find! Unfortunately, Chapter 1 is unavailable, so no summary! If you can find any chapters I don't have, just message me and let me have it!All the exclamation marks!





	1. Unavailable

Unfortunately, I can't find Chapter 1. In fact, there's nothing I can see up until 6. See you then!


	2. Unavailable

So, I have to fill up the rest of these with filler until I find words to put here.


	3. Unavailable

So, how's your day, people? I'm currently procrastinating an SAT practice test for this, so yeah...


	4. Unavailable

I've already run out of ideas to put here. Time for singing!


	5. Unavailable

Okay, now I have to get back to my practice. Next chapter available is 8.


	6. Viewers Respond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter I've found.

**Grillby’s**

 

Ever since Grillby installed the flatscreen tv in his restaurant there were moments when he wondered whether it was a good business move or not.  

 

It some instances when a silly Mettaton comedy was on, laughter would fill the bar to the brim and that was actually quite pleasant.  The dramas would leave many monsters extremely quiet as intense and heartbreaking scenes occurred, which was okay in itself.  To Grillby it was like having a roomful of mimes in his place.  The horror movie days were just flat out entertaining.  The monsters would scream in shock and horror and shout out advice to the heroes on what to do.

 

On days like those, Grillby did not regret his decision.  But on days when nothing was on and Mettaton’s simply chose to broadcast his quiz shows on his live tv channel, the bar would go into completely chaos.  The reason?  The Royal Guards, aka Lesser Dog, Greater Dog, Doggo, Dogaressa, and Dogamy had the tendency to become a tad bit overcompetitive on who could answer the most answers correctly.  And they also had a habit of over celebrating, which wouldn’t be too bad if the winner celebrated at the end at the end of the quiz, but that was simply not the case.  

 

These dogs would bang their fists on the table, bark incessantly, howl in victory or growl in defeat over **every single question**.  Dogaressa was probably the worst as she would look at her male companions and her lover whenever she got an answer correct and scream “in your faces” at the top of her lungs.  And good luck to any poor restaurant patron who tried to change the channel during those quiz games.  The dogs would growl and bare their teeth in a warning manner.  Needless to say if a quiz show was on, it damn well stayed on until the dogs left.  Grillby allowed it, because like Sans, the dogs were usually respectable customers who only came in to eat and play cards.

 

However today was a little different.  For starters the dogs actually came in early.  Everybody in the town of Snowdin knew their schedule, so Grillby knew they should have been at their posts watching for any humans.  He tilted his head at the “alpha” of the dog pack.  Dogaressa answered his unspoken question.

 

“Captain Undyne called us up and gave us the next few days off,” she explained as Dogamy pulled out a chair for her.  She flashed him a love filled look as she sat down.

 

“She didn’t tell us why though,” Dogamy said as he sat down.  The other dogs followed, sitting around their favorite table.

 

“Hey buddy, do us a favor and turn the tv to the live channel,” Doggo said and looked around the bar in a suspicious manner, eyeing the other customers.  Greater and Lesser both barked quietly in agreement.

 

Nobody said anything as Grillby sighed and turned the t.v on.  The end credits to an episode of _The Robot of Queens_ was playing which could only mean Mettaton’s game show was only seconds away from starting.

 

“The usual grub Grillby,” Dogamy said before he looked at his love, his eyes heartshaped.  “Is that alright my hotdog?”

 

Dogaressa giggled and playfully batted her paw against Dogamy.

 

“My big strong man knows how to take care of me.”

 

Lesser, Greater, Doggo, and Grillyb rolled their eyes but didn’t say anything.

 

Why mock true love, Grillby thought as he entered the kitchen to prepare the dogs’ usual: scraps.  That’s literally what they wanted.  The scraps from other monsters’ table.  Grillby used to feel guilty, but now he even added it to his menu.  If it’s ordered everyday, it should be on the menu right?  

 

The door that separated him from his dining room was not sound-proof so when Mettaton’s game show theme music began to play, but he **didn’t say** his traditional “Welcome, beauties….To today’s quiz show” intro.  In fact, the first voice Grillby heard was the ramblings of Dr. Alphys.  Grillby chuckled as he dumped Sans’ old, uneaten fries into a  cleaner plate.  The poor dear must have unknowingly wandered onto Mettaton’s live set again, but whatever was happening was keeping the dogs quiet, which was relieving.  Until…...

 

“It’s the puppy!  Lovey, look!  That sweet little puppy is on tv!”

 

“Aww….they look even cuter on tv.”

 

Grillby heard Lesser and Greater bark in agreement while Doggo slightly banged his fists on the table in annoyance.  Grillby winced.

 

“Why is she on tv?  Shouldn’t Alphys be taking care of our sick family instead of shooting the breeze with a healthy puppy?”

 

“Shhh…...she’s doing the best she can Doggo,” Dogamy said, even though he kind of agreed.

 

“She can at least answer our letters,” he muttered banding his fist even louder against the table.

 

Grillby would have entered the dinning room again to give Doggo a stern look about damaging his tables **_again_ ** , but the last human who fell really did some damage to a lot of monsters.  The dogs’ families were unfortunate enough to be part of their victims.  They nearly killed those dogs.  So he allowed Doggo to rant.

 

As the tv show continued, something Alphys said made everybody in the room gasp. Grillby was too far away from the tv to hear what it was though.

 

“Not a puppy,” Greater gruffed out.  And that’s all it took for Grillby to leave the kitchen to see what they were watching.  Whatever just happened was enough to get Greater to speak and for the many years that Grillby knew Greater, Greater never spoke a word.

 

As he walked out of the kitchen, he realized that not only the dogs were watching the tv with intense interest, but so was every monster in the restaurant.  Grillby looked up at the screen and saw that strange little monster kid standing next to Dr. Alphys.  The monster kid looked less than thrilled to be on camera, unless…..they didn’t know they were on camera?  Which would have meant they were less than thrilled to be standing next to Alphys.  

 

What Alphys said next made everybody understand what Greater had meant.

  
**_“Actually since you stepped out of the Ruins, I’ve, um, been “observing” you journey through my console.  Your fights….your friendships…...Everything!”_ **

 

One of his regulars gasped.  

 

“That kid, that kid that Sans brought in the restaurant with him…..that was a human!”

 

Another monster piped up.  “Yeah!  Only humans walk out of the Ruins!”

 

“After Asgore gets their soul we’ll be free!”

 

“Yeah, the surface here we come.”

 

Grillby watched as four of his regulars broke into happy chaos.  The rest of the monsters, the dogs included, just sat there in stunned silence.  As for Grillby, while the idea of leaving the underground excited him just like every other monster, he couldn’t help but notice a small sick feeling started to build in his stomach.  It got worse as he stared up at the screen.  

 

That human didn’t do anything….and yet….he looked back at the four cheering monsters…...they didn’t seem to care.  A bile of disgust started to brew in his throat.  Apparently he wasn’t the only one who had mixed feeling about that human.  As he looked around his crowd bar almost all the monster who weren’t cheering were glaring at the four who were.

 

It didn’t go unnoticed.  The cheering started to die when the four realized they were the only one cheering.

 

The venus fly-trap monster smiled at his fellow monsters.

 

“What’s wrong guys?  We’re gonna be free!  Why aren’t you happy?”

 

The young monster hipster with the dyed green hair pointed at the screen, or to be more specific he point at the little human on the screen who was now standing behind a flashy podium.  Despite the sunglasses covering his face a majority of the monsters saw his hand shaking.

 

“Why are you so happy about that poor kid being killed?”

 

The plant monster’s smile faded at the world “killed.”  He struggled to find an explanation, but couldn’t.  Fortunately, a small bunny answered for him.  He answered with a distasteful amount of arrogance.

 

“Remember the king’s decree:  All humans who fall down here are to die.”

 

The third cheerer nodded.  “Also remember what the humans did to Prince Asriel.”

 

The fourth cheerer gave a grunt of agreement.  “And the war.  Don’t forget about the war.  They killed a lot of our families and loved ones and then banished us here where we can barely move without bumping into another monster.  

 

All the monsters couldn’t argue with that.  The humans did bring them every bit of unspeakable misery they’ve ever gone through.  

 

“Maybe…..maybe humans have changed.  How come that puppy-uh….human….didn’t attack and kill any of us?”  Dogamy asked as he stood up and mentioned to his fellow dogs.

 

The bunny scoffed.  

 

“Well look at you.  If I can recall wasn’t it a human who nearly killed your father?  And didn’t you and your “darling hotdog” declare that you couldn’t wait to go to the surface just to watch King Asgore destroy all the humans?”

 

Dogamy whined as he remembered.  He had been younger, angry, and full of hate at that moment.  He did say that and the dogs howled in agreement.  And as he got older, his anger and need to leave underground intensified as it did with his fellow dogs.  That is until a few minutes ago…

 

He tried to say something, but it was hard to put into words what his mind was piecing together.  He looked at his wife desperately, who smiled at him and nodded her head.  She understood.  Of course she understood, she was the only one who understood him.  She stood up.

 

“A human nearly killed our family…..but it wasn’t that human.”

 

Doggo stood up, his eyes shifting to every customer as he spoke.  “That human doesn’t seem capable of stepping on a flower, let alone hurting another creature.”

 

Some of the customers started to shout in agreement while Grillby nodded his head and suddenly the four cheerers started to look a little out of place.  And a tad bit ashamed.

 

“Y-yeah, maybe, b-but just cause t-they h-haven’t hurt somebody yet doesn’t mean they won’t in the future.”

 

Lesser stood up as well and petted his own head as his neck grew.  Dogaressa smiled.  She understood.

 

“We attack them and they just petted us.”

 

Laughter entered the bar as the idea of the tiny human actually hurting somebody became absurd.  

 

The four cheerers tried one more time.  

 

“We only need one more soul…..don’t you all get that?!  Just one more soul and we’ll get the freedom we all deserve.”

 

Greater stood up.  His powerful presence silenced every person in the bar.  He looked at everyone….and farted.  Everybody groaned and held their noses and started to look away until he began to speak in a clear, sophisticated almost British accented voice.

 

“Just because we deserve our freedom does not make us entitled to commit some a hideous act against an innocent creature,” he paused, not noticing the shock and awe filled looks he was receiving from everybody including his dog pack.  He continued.  

 

“Due to the recent evidence that have been brought to our attention involving humans,  it is not safe nor fair to conclude that all humans are naturally evil, in which case we must assume that there are good humans on the surface as well as bad.  Therefore King Asgore’s decree of war must be retracted as he made that declaration with the assumption that all humans are immoral and malevolent, which we have just found out is just the case.”

 

Nobody said anything for a few seconds.  They let the truth of the words sink in.  And some of them began to feel a little angry.  They felt angry and disgusted with themselves as they remembered instances where they cheered the destruction of humanity.    And in a small way, they also felt a little angry towards King Asgore.  

 

If he hadn’t made the declaration against humans years ago, none of the monsters in the Underground would have ever cheered the death of a creature no matter how violent or unkind they were.  And as some monsters started to feel more disgusted with themselves, they couldn’t help but wonder about the other six humans who were killed by that declaration.  While it was true the six humans did attack monsters….who started it?  

 

Most of the monsters in that bar couldn’t deny that they were educated at a young age to attack a human if they ever saw one.  

 

Grillby watched and felt the mood in the bar change.  He shook his head with a sad smile as he turned to Dogaressa.  

 

“........Perhaps since Papyrus and Undyne are nowhere to be found, you should take your concerns up with the king.”

 

**************************************************************************************************

**A Home In Snowdin**

 

Both of MK’s parents, along with his sister looked at the screen in shocked silence as MK bounced excited around the living room.  There was a wide, smug grin on his face as he looked at his family.

 

“I told you they were a human!  I told you we weren’t playing “monsters and humans!”  Boo-ya!”

 

The father looked at the human on screen as they “answered” Mettaton’s questions and then looked at his son.  His son was a kid who wore a striped sweater and this human was clearly a kid who wore a striped sweater…..a stupid little kid just like his stupid little kid...a stupid little kid who saved his son’s life, if his son was telling the truth.  He looked at MK again and saw red hearts in this son’s eyes as he stared dreamily at the human.  Nope, his son was telling the truth.   

 

And for the first time in many years since he graduated high school, he began to really compare the two races.

 

Monsters’ souls were made from Love, Mercy and Compassion.  Okay.  Humans were cold, vicious killers.  So…..why did this human save his son?  They could have let him fall to his death.  That’s what a human should have done if his school textbooks were true.  But they saved him instead. It was safe to assume that human’s soul contained Love, Mercy and Compassion.  But as that thought entered his mind, another thought entered as well:  were there more humans on the surface who had those type of souls?  Was Agore planning on killing those humans as well?

 

His wife gasped as she grabbed his tail.  Apparently she was going through a similar thought process.  

 

“Honey….if that’s a human child…..do you think there are tons more human children on the surface?”

 

And suddenly an image flashed in his mind that turned his blood cold.  He saw...Frisk wasn’t it?  He saw Frisk being killed.  He saw the barrier being broken.  He saw his family leaving the Underground...and then he saw empty buildings where the humans lived before they were all killed off by Asgore.  He saw empty cribs.  He saw closets full of human children’s clothing.  He saw toys that were never going to be played with.  Family photos.

 

He knew that Asgore and his queen had adopted a human child many years ago.  He just forgot about it.  He forgot about that humans could have stupid kids, just like monsters could have stupid kids.  And suddenly he felt sick.  

 

He looked to his son who seemed oblivious to the fact that their king would most likely kill his friend.  And then he looked at his older daughter who seemed to fully understand how sick this was.

 

“King Asgore’s going to kill them isn’t he?”

 

The father stood up.  “Not if I have something to say about it.”

 

“Dad, you’re the coolest!”

 

MK’s declaration made the father smile.  

 

“But if they have to stay in the Underground they can’t live with us unless we make it clear Frisk and I aren’t siblings.  It would look really weird if we started dating and people thought we were.”

 

The smile left his face.  He looked his wife who shrugged.  He never thought in a million years that a member of his family would want to date a human….but some really unbelievable things were beginning to happen.

 

**Another Home in Snowdin**

Business was slow at the shop so the bunny shopkeeper decided to close it down for the day and visit with her sister and little niece.  

 

They decided to watch Mettaton’s live channel.  And now both sisters sat on their couch, horrified as the Innkeeper clutched her daughter to her chest.  Despite the child’s squirming and obvious discomfort, the Innkeeper couldn’t bring herself to let go of her child.  

 

On screen that human they both met was hugging the royal scientist and actually apologizing for being mean.  

Both bunny sister looked at each other and then looked down at the youngest member of their family.

 

“Do you don’t think Asgore would kill whole families do you?”  the Innkeeper asked as she tightened her grip on her child even more.

 

The storekeeper smiled, but it wasn’t a confident smile.  “Of course he wouldn’t.  He probably just mean the bad ones.”

 

The little bunny girl looked up at her aunt.

 

“Nah ah auntie…..my school says that all humans are bad.  That’s why King Asgore gots to kill em.  We wouldn’t be safe on the surface otherwise.”

 

Both older sisters cringed at the young child’s casual word choice and cringed even more when they remembered recent conversations they had.  Conversations about needing that last soul.  They looked at the screen again as Alphys returned their hug.  That day, not too long ago, both sisters had been discussing the necessary murder of the seventh human in order to leave the underground.  Then they started to laugh about all the fun things they were going to do when they made it to the surface, which would be free of humans.

 

The storekeeper covered her face in shame.  Since she when did she become so cold?  She knew the answer though.  The day Asgore made the declaration.  Speaking of him…...

 

“Perhaps Asgore needs to know about this.”

 

The Innkeeper nodded as her sister stood up.

 

*******************************************************************************************************   

**GEARSON'S SHOP**

Gearson nodded pleasantly as he listened to the three clam monsters tell him about the tv show they had just watched.  As he listened, he cleaned his magnifying glass and every so often looked behind him to where that prophesy picture hung.  

 

“So it was a human that was on the quiz show.  Not an actor either, Alphys was actually on there too and clearly called them a human!”

 

The old turtle monster chuckled, but inside he was observing his young visitors’ face.  They looked excited and hyped…..they also looked distressed and unhappy as well.  Gearson knew the reason though.

 

“Well ain’t that something….were they vicious?” he asked.  

 

He knew the answer since he met the cute little chubby human and took it upon himself to discreetly warn them about Undyne looking for them when he saw they were harmless.  But even though he knew the answer to his own question he still wanted to hear them say it out loud.

 

“Well….that’s why we came in here.”

 

“Oh?” the old turtle cracked a more friendlier old man smile as he tilted his head at them.

 

The tallest of the three began.  He looked nervous and unprepared for what he was going to say, but Gearson patiently waited.  

 

“Well the human….it didn’t do anything.  In fact, it hugged Alphys for helping and then said some things about monsters about how we  think we’re superior….and it’s...really….not cool.”

 

The second tallest one continued.  “And we were just wondering….since you did fight in the war and probably remember humans, were….they…..as evil as Asgore says they are?”

 

Gearson felt his smile fell a little.  

 

After six souls it takes a stupid quiz show for monsters to finally get some common sense, Gearson thought as he forced the same pleasant smile on his face.

 

“Well, I’m old, so my memory ain’t so good anymore, but I do recall there were a bunch of humans that refused to fight in that war.”

 

The silence and stupid looks would have been laughable to the old turtle if the realization those young monsters along with every other monster in the underground were about to have wouldn’t be so heartbreaking.  

 

The shortest clam monster spoke.  As he spoke, Gearson knew the monster didn’t like the words coming out of his own mouth.

 

“Why did our history books tell us that all humans fought?”

 

Gearson nodded as he tried to find the right words to say that wouldn’t fill these monsters up with self-hatred and internal disgust.

 

“Well….when we first came down here…...the history books did mentioned that.”

 

The clam monsters looked at each other as realization began to hit them.  Gearson gently helped them along.

 

“I think it may have changed when Asgore’s children died.”

 

The clam brothers looked at the old turtle.

 

“So he made humans look horrible because he was…..angry?”

 

Gearson cheerfully shrugged his shoulders and went back to cleaning his glass.  He didn’t need to push them along anymore.  

 

“You mean he lied to us this whole time?!”

 

Gearson shrugged his shoulders.  

 

“You mean a whole race of people are gonna suffer because of the violent acts of a few humans?”

 

Gearson shrugged again.

 

“Gearson is that why you left the king’s service?”

 

He question had been so  unexpected that Gearson stopped his imaginary task.  The old turtle looked up at the three clam monsters and gave a hearty laugh.

 

“That was such a long time ago and like I said boys, my memory ain’t what it used to be.”

 

The clam brothers left and when he was sure there was would be no more monster customers he put the tattered notebook and cloudy glasses back on the shelf in case the human came back.

 

He remembered that human.  A dorky little thing who listened to the old turtle’s stories and wrote them all down in his notebook.  He also remembered Asgore killing them near his shop.  And he remembered telling Asgore never to come near his place of business again as he collected his dead friend’s belongings.

 

He shook his head at the memory as he thought of Asgore’s depressed and miserable face as the old turtle yelled at him.  And as he saw that face, he knew the king wanted to retract his declaration of war, but it was too late.  The monsters were too invested in the plan and the king had already lost everything.  He had lost his children and his queen.  

 

**_“I can’t take it back Gearson.  If I do, I’ll take away their hope.  That’s the last thing they have.”_ **

 

He tried to justify himself to the old turtle, even as the blood from the human was dripping off his trident.

 

Gearson had simply glared at him.

 

**_“Ya may brought hope back to the people by makin’ that ugly declaration, but ya also created something.  I don’t remember a time when monsters found themselves happy when they thought bout the complete destruction of another race.”_ **

 

He had slammed his door in the king’s face, clutching his friend’s notebook and glasses.  

 

He hated himself at that moment for allowing it to happen.  He hated himself for never speaking up, but then again….who was he?  He was just an old turtle who didn’t know anything and couldn’t remember a lot…..at least that’s what the monsters always said when he said something that was remotely pro-human or when he didn’t share their same enthusiasm whenever a soul was collected

 

But now the truth was coming out.  

 

Gearson looked at the picture again and thought of the lonely king.  

 

“Ya old fool.  I told ya t’was a dangerous thing to forget.”

*******************************************************************************************************

**THE RESORT**

The screams of the monsters woke Burgerpants up and as he sat up in bed he looked around the hotel room he shared with his best friend Nicey, trying to focus on where he was  He groaned and rubbed his head, hoping that would get rid of the massive hangover he had.  It didn’t.

 

Guess he should focus on the major issue:  why did it should like the resort was in panic mode?  A sharp smile covered his face.  Maybe the restaurant was on fire.  The thought of watching one of Mettaton’s buildings going up in flames brought a happy smile on his face.  If that were the case, he didn’t want to miss it.

 

He stood up and raced out the door.  Yeah he smelled bad, the uniform he had slept in was wrinked and fucked beyond repair and he hadn’t shaved the excessive amount of fur that tended to grow quickly on his face, but if there was a chance he would witness Mettaton sobbing dramatically in front of the building and that was worth the chance of being further labeled as a social outcast.

 

As he walked out, he didn’t smell smoke or see those beautiful orange flames.  What he did see was the wealthier monsters who set up homes at Mettaton’s resort running around in a disorganized fashion.  The crashed into each other...they pushed each other out of the way...and they kept screaming words that Burgerpants had a hard time hearing.  

 

He walked out of his hotel building fully and was immediately pushed to the ground by a passerby.

 

“Watch it!” he yelled, but the person was already gone and disappeared into the chaos.  

 

Among the panicked people were Catty and Bratty, who were taking the opportunity to help themselves the already burgers at the store.  Burgerpants mumbled again and picked himself up walking over to them.  

 

“Hey girls.”

 

Both monster girls looked up, their arms full of burgers  with guilty faces.  When they saw the cat monsters, they smiled relieved.

 

“Oh it's only you BP.”

 

Burgerpants smiled at them.  At least they didn’t use his hated other nickname.  

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Bratty’s eyes flashed excitedly.

 

“Didn’t you hear?  There’s a human coming this way!  Everybody at the resort is losing their minds trying to find the perfect hiding spot so we thought…” she smiled slyly and held up her full arms.

 

Burgerpants smirked, but there was a loud crash that took his attention away from the girls.

 

Nicey landed on the floor, his cart overturned with tons of different ice cream now leaking out.  The person who ran into him didn’t even try to help him.   Burgerpants lost it.

 

“HEY!”

 

His voice echoed and all movements from the resort stopped.  He stomped over to his friend and helped him up.

 

“THE FUCK’S WRONG WITH YOU ALL?”

 

Nicey winced at the curse word, but didn’t say anything.  Well he couldn’t.  He was so out of breath from running.

 

A fingernail monster answered.

 

“There’s a human coming-”

 

“The human is nice!”

 

All the monsters gasped in shock at the blue bunny.   Even Burgerpants looked at his best friend of fifteen years with an eyebrow raised.  Nicey noticed the looks everybody was giving him and swallowed nervously.  He wasn’t too good a public speaking.

 

“The human hasn’t hurt anybody!  They saved a monster-”

 

Nicey winced as he heard those familiar jeers and mocking tones of the other monsters and suddenly he was back in the classroom.  

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP.”

 

Once again, Burgerpants managed to silence the crowd.

 

“Look...I don’t know what’s going on...I’m a little hungover-”

 

“Big shock!” somebody in the crowd called out.   There was a peal of laughter.  BP ignored it.

 

“But maybe we should look at things carefully before we go into complete anarchy.”

 

There were some mutters of agreement.  Catty pulled herself up to the front of the crowd.

 

“Mettaton’s replaying the game show.”

 

Burgerpants nodded and walked to the restaurant.  All the monsters followed him and as soon as he turned on the giant tv Mettaton installed a few days ago, the monsters once again lost their shit.

 

As the little human came on screen everybody began to point at it, screaming “there it is!”

 

BP looked at the human as he lit one of his cigarettes up.  And started to laugh.

 

“That’s it?!  That’s what a human looks like?  That little shit is what you all are afraid of?”

 

And suddenly a few of the monsters began to feel stupid as they took a closer look at the human.  It was actually kind of cute.  And small…...and was hugging the royal scientist.  And the royal scientist was hugging them back even though she knew they were a human.

 

The monster that pushed Nicey looked at him and reached into his wallet to pay for the ice cream he ruined.

 

“Well….just cause it’s small doesn’t mean it isn’t capable of killing.”

 

Burgerpants looked at the monster with barely contained disgust before he look pointed to the human who was still hugging Alphys.

 

“Yeah...they might kill us with their cuteness.  Don’t be a fucking idiot.”

 

He turned to his friend.  “Alright Nicey.  Give us the scoop.  What’s with the human?”  

 

Nicey began to spread the message as the monsters huddled closer to hear him.  As they did they couldn’t help, but notice a pack of dogs, an armless grown monster and a purple bunny entered the resort.  

 

And each one of the newcomers patiently waited their turn before they offered their experiences with the eighth fallen human and their thoughts about humans in general.  

****************************************************************************************************

**Undyne's House**

**_“Undyne actually killed somebody.  I know the monster world kind of views humans as being inferior but you understand that humans are good too right?  I mean in the human world we consider killing another person the absolute worst thing you can do.”_ **

 

Undyne covered her face in shame.  God…...that’s what the human said.  And Undyne tried to call them...twice...but they didn’t answer.  

 

Papyrus sat beside her and patted her back.  Sans looked at both of them and for once in his life he was torn.  In every situation he always sided with his brother…..but when his brother finally cracked down and told him what happened between the human and himself, he couldn’t blame the kid...but still…..he couldn’t help but dislike them at the same time for the emotional torment they were putting his brother through.

 

They wouldn’t pick up the phone….they didn’t want to listen…..they didn’t want to be reasonable….if they would just they would know that Papyrus and Undyne were on their side….but they wouldn’t listen to them…..

 

…. But maybe they’d listen to him….and he would get them to understand that monsters could change and regret their decisions.  He thought of a moment in his life that changed his view on humans….and it all started with a little promise…..

 

He grinned at the two monsters.

 

“I think I know how to get the human to listen.”

  
And with that he vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta skip 7, but I do have both 8 and 9 available. Wait like 45 mins though, I have to do something. That is, if anybody's paying attention.


	7. Unavailable

Alright, chapter 8 is coming up about now!


	8. Dinner with Sans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's go.

“Listen dipshits, if this little moron could control minds don’t you think they would be controlling yours at this moment?”  

 

BP stood in front of the two Royal Guards as Nicey protectively held Frisk to his chest.  The two guards tried to attack again, but paused when BP decided to “educated” them on their belief system.

 

01 and 02 kept shooting Frisk uneasy glances, which Frisk chalked up as the two guards making sure the “dangerous” human wasn’t using their mind control to brainwash the angry burger employee.

 

What Frisk didn’t know was that both guards kept looking at them because Frisk seemed more or less determined to kill 01 and 02 with their eyes.  The unfallen tears in Frisk’s eyes was also a pretty big distraction.

 

Frisk quickly rubbed their hand over their face in an attempt to keep them from falling.  What did they have to do to show all these monsters they meant no harm?  They’ve been merciful, gentle, talkative, and friendly.  What else could Frisk do?  Hadn’t they done everything they could do to prove themselves?  They even let these monsters hurt them without raising a finger to fight back.  Why hadn’t that been good enough for Papyrus, Undyne, and now this two?   

 

Frisk placed a hand on their chest again.  They felt their soul resonating with unlimited determination and unbridled anger and hatred.  No….when it was all said and done, the only thing they could do that would be good enough for monsters like those four would be to die so they can take the final soul needed to break that damn barrier and kill the entire human race….something Frisk was NEVER going to allow.  

 

Their phone rang again and they looked down at the number.  It was Undyne.  They didn’t notice all the monsters had paused their argument to watch them.  They thought back to what 02 had told them before they fucking ninja starred them to death……

 

**_“.......and she told us to let them go through….”_ **

 

And then they thought back to what Alphys said:

 

**_“I d-don’t think s-she desires t-that an-anymore.  Y-you c-changed her.  Maybe you s-should talk to her.”_ **

 

Maybe Frisk could…….but just as the thought of forgiveness entered Frisk’s mind, they shook it off.  Even if they could somehow forgive Undyne for what she had done to them, which didn’t seem likely, they could never forgive her for killing once before…...Frisk couldn’t forgive a murderer.  

 

But for some reason it was still hard to ignore that call because Frisk finally did believe that Undyne wanted to change…..Frisk sighed mentally in relief as the ringing stopped for about a second...before it started up again, only this time the screen lit up with Papyrus’ number.  Sans…..if Papyrus had one saving grace it was Sans….but just because someone has a fantastic sibling doesn’t make them fantastic…..or GREAT.  Frisk ignored that call too.

 

They looked back up and finally noticed all four monsters watching them.

 

BP had lit another cig and smirked at them.

 

“Obsessed ex-lovers little buddy?”

 

Frisk smiled at him.  For the little time they knew the vulgar, angry and chain-smoking cat monster, they couldn’t help but like him.  He reminded Frisk of their mother before the accid..err….and he made such goofy expressions too.   **_He_ ** should be the Underground’s superstar, he’s got the face for it.  

 

“So…..dude….sorry about…..like….killing you.  We….cool?”

 

The smile shattered from their face as they glared at the two royal guards.  Was that really their apology?  Not that Frisk would have accepted it, but if they were going to make the attempt, could they at least act like they gave a shit?  They were probably just apologizing because of Nicey and BP.

 

“No.  We are not cool.”

 

Frisk watched as the two royal Guardsmen looked at each other before they dropped their weapons and held out their hands in a pleading gesture.  Frisk tried to ignore the pain that bloomed in their chest at the sight.  Why should they forgive these two?  They killed them without a moment’s hesitation.  If they were good monsters or even compassionate monsters wouldn’t there have been just a slight pause before they killed Frisk?  Those two killed them like it was nothing.  Killing shouldn’t be so easy.  

 

“Murderers…” Frisk hissed and another pang of guilt and misery exploded from their chest as the two guards visibly flinched.  

 

Frisk hoped that would be the end of it, but the two guards just wouldn’t shut up and leave.  

 

“Hotland…..it’s e-easy to get lost…..want...like.. an escort dude?”

 

Frisk didn’t answer.  

 

“........we could help you-”

 

“Clearly the dumb brat isn’t going for it.  Leave them alone and get on with your patrolling.” BP muttered, taking a long drag from his cig.

 

Nicey nodded.  “It might be for the best.”

 

01 tried one more time.  “The human came back to life so it shouldn’t even matter.”

 

Frisk shook their head.  “Me getting killed doesn’t matter, but you killing me was what mattered.”  

***************************************************************************************************

BP watched as the two guards walked off.  He wasn’t sad to see them go, but when he turned back to his best friend, Nicey seemed a little heartbroken about how things ended just now.  BP shook his head.  The human (Frisk was it?) seemed to recover their friendly demeanor as soon as 01 and 02 left.  They seemed concerned with Nicey’s sad posture.  

 

“Everything alright Mr. Nice Cream Guy?”

 

Nicey snapped out of his sad state and smiled at the child he was holding before he placed them down to sit on his Nice Cream Cart.  

 

“Seeing your death…..was a bit too much.”

 

The human scoffed good-naturedly.  “Try going through it.  Anyways, were you two looking for me?”

BP nodded, leaning against the cart.  He took another drag from his cancer stick.

 

“Saw you on tv-”

 

“TV?!  I was on tv?!”

 

BP and Nicey exchanged puzzled looks before Nicey answered.

 

“Yeah...you’ve been on the live tv channel this whole time,” the blue bunny straightened up as he realized something even important.  “Actually we’re on the channel now too.”  

 

The human blinked and quickly looked around the area.  BP figured they were trying to find the cameras.  He patted their head a little roughly as he straightened up his uniform as best as he could.  It was his first tv appearance and he knew how he looked.  He looked like a hungover unemployed young monster who was pissed off at life….so at least the people at the Resort would recognize him.  

 

“The cameras are hidden all over the place little buddy.  Mettaton felt it would give his shows a more natural look if some people didn’t know they were on tv.  His lines are the only ones scripted.”   

 

The human sighed and shot them a sad smile.

 

“So all monsters know I’m a human now?”

 

They both nodded.  Nicey smirked.  “I knew you were human even before you came on air.  Your little armless boyfriend won’t stay quiet about you.”

 

Frisk blushed, remembering MK’s promise and the warmth that bloomed in their soul when they realized he did keep his promise.

 

“He’s not my boyfriend..well...he didn’t say he wanted to be did he?”

 

BP rolled his eyes.  “Look this is all cute and everything, but the monsters sent us both to bring you to the Resort.  They don’t want to see you get hurt so we’re gonna escort you the rest of the way.”

 

Frisk blinked before they narrowed their eyes in suspicion.  “But they know I’m human-”

 

BP smirked.  “Yeah no shit.  Look little buddy...I don’t blame ya for being a tad bit distrusting, but believe me when I tell ya there ain’t no ambush waiting for you.  We monsters are kind of losing interest in Asgore’s human killing plan.”

 

Nicey rubbed the back of his head.  “Yeah….most of us aren’t very comfortable with that idea anymore since ….well-”  

 

Nicey couldn’t finish his sentence, especially with Frisk staring up at them with their wide eyes.  The suspicion was still there, but there was a great amount of hope blooming in them as well and truth be told, Frisk did feel a great sense of relief enter their body.  If what Nicey was saying was true, that means the monsters’ ideas about humanity was changing which meant the human race might be saved. Now if only the monsters could convince the king...

 

What BP said caused another beautiful ray of hope to burst in Frisk’s soul.  

 

“You didn’t hurt or kill any of us, which means you ain’t a murdering little asshole, which means there has to be some humans on the surfaces that ain’t murdering assholes, which means our king is a murdering asshole and we can’t have that.”

 

Nicey’s eyes flickered nervously around the room as he began to push the cart away with Frisk still sitting on it.  Frisk steadied themselves so they wouldn’t fall.  The smile never left their face.  

 

“BP, don’t say stuff like that. We’re still on tv.”

 

Lighting up another cig, BP followed them.  

 

“Hey don’t forget, Asgore was the one who declared war on humanity, which means he’s the reason why humans are portrayed as evil, which means he’s also the reason why I’ve been hoping for the seventh human to fall just so we can kill them and break the barrier…..so FUCK HIM!”

 

The last two words seemed to echo and Nicey winced.  Though their king was a gentle monster, Nicey wasn’t too sure how the king would deal with such disrespect.  Nobody has ever said something like that before about King Asgore….though it did make Nicey realize something:  Asgore needed to be told about this.  The blue bunny looked down at Frisk who was looking back at him with a trusting and friendly grin.  He wondered if other human children on the surface could smile like that.  

 

Nicey nodded to himself:  Yep Asgore was definitely going to change his plan.  

 

“Well, let’s focus on one thing at a time.  Let’s get them to the Resort…..come on kid, I know a quick way to get there.”

*******************************************************************************************************

Sans checked his watch.  The human still hadn’t arrived at his hotdog stand and it was making him nervous.  Where could they be?  And suddenly a string of panic scenarios entered his mind.  

 

Could their many deaths cause them to lose their determination and their ability to reset?  Did Undyne and her guards and their human hating beliefs finally break the little human?  Or was the final straw Papyrus and his betrayal-no….Sans angrily shook those thoughts away.  If the human was going to lose their determination they would already have lost it like the other hum-Sans shook that thought away too.  

 

In some ways he was really beginning to hate this human, even though he knew it was an unjustified hatred, but he just couldn’t help himself.  If the human were so righteous and so merciful and so loving then why the fuck hadn’t they forgiven Papyrus and Undyne?  

And it wasn’t like Papyrus and Undyne weren’t the only ones who attack the human so why were they on the receiving end of the human’s hatred?  Sans knew the answer, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit that his brother was willing to help murder an innocent.  

 

Yeah but he wasn’t so much on his brother’s side that he refused to see the human’s side and even understand it, but what did it matter?  Undyne- **_fucking Undyne_ ** -the powerful human hating captain of the Royal Guards was now hiding in her house cradling a pair of old dusty ballet shoes as she desperately tried to do everything in her power to get the human’s forgiveness.  And Papyrus gave up his childhood dream of joining the Royal Guards when he figured out what Royal Guards were suppose to do with humans and was just as desperate for the human’s forgiveness.   

 

And not only that, the human was getting all monsters to change and it would only be a matter of time before they demand that King Asgore come up with a new and peaceful way to break the barrier.  The human had everybody on their side and the king would surely respect his people’s wishes so why couldn’t they let bygones be bygones and let Papyrus be happy again?  What more could they want?  And where they fuck were they?!

 

Sans walked away from his stand to see if were in the next room.  As he walked towards the exit, he felt his thoughts and memories start to mock him.

 

 ** _You’d know where they were if you actually kept your promise,_** a part of him said.  He shook his head, trying to ignore that voice.  That was another thing;  the human kept making him think about the past.  It wasn’t a good place to be, and if he kept going there he was going to end up like Undyne or Papyrus and they were both counting on him to fix this.  And he knew he could it and could do it much quicker than Alphys.  He just needed to find-

 

He looked out the door-less exit and saw that Nice Cream Vender and Mettaton’s burger employee walking away from him, most likely using that shortcut to avoid Muffet’s little bakery stand.  He wondered why Alphys hadn’t told the human about it it she was trying to get the human to avoid danger.  

 

 **_Why didn’t_ ** **_you_ ** **_tell them about it Mr. Promise Maker?_ ** He gritted his teeth.  What side were his mind on anyway!?  The human was alive and he had been keeping an eye on them.  Granted it was from a distance, but they were alive weren’t they?

 

The human was happily sitting on the cart and was laughing and chatting with them.

 

Sans felt his bony fingers curl into fists as blue magic poured from his socket.  How could the human laugh and enjoy themselves when they knew they were causing Papyrus a lot of heartache?  He was halfway tempted to rush towards the small human, grab them and shake some sense into them.  He took two more steps before that voice spoke up again.  

 

**_They never harmed Papyrus.  He brought it on himse-_ **

 

In one flash of magic, Sans teleported to the Resort.  Well he wasn’t exactly in the Resort where all the businesses were.  He put himself in front of Mettaton’s overpriced dine-in restaurant where he wouldn’t miss the human when they did come. Sans was familiar with this place.  He did some stand-up comedy at this restaurant every so often, but the crowds were usually less than impressed with his material.  He always had better luck at Grillby’s where the monsters weren’t so stuck up. But he got his food for free here, so it was a decent place to have his conversation in.  

 

He tapped his foot against the ground as he waited.  It wouldn’t be too long now before they appeared with their overly wide smile and hopeful cute eyes, determined to befriend everybody they met….and truth be told, as much as a part of him hated the human, there was a huge part of him that really liked that small little human too.  They reminded him of Papyrus in a way.  They also reminded of that nice lady behind the huge door.  If it weren’t for the hostility between them and his brother, he might actually adore them.  Maybe he would after he fixed this situation.  

 

“Hey Sans!”

 

That happy and familiar voice of the human brought him out of his thoughts.  He looked and saw them breaking free of their two new monster friends and racing towards him.  His permanent smile grew warmer at the kid as his misplaced hatred vanished when they smiled, happy to see him.  It was easy to **_hate_ ** them when he wasn’t around them.  It was nearly impossible to **_dislike_ ** them when they were looking at him with such warmth and unconditional love.

 

It there were evidence needed to back up the theory that not all humans were bad, Frisk, the tiny human was it and was also the reason why Sans was grateful to the lady behind the door for having him make that promise.

 

**_Calm down Sans.  You really didn’t keep your promise, so don’t pat yourself on the back too much you self-righteo-_ **

 

Sans grunted as the human collide with him and wrapped their tiny arms around his waist.  Aside from their handshake when he first introduce himself, the hug was their first real moment of physical contact.  It made him realize how small they were.  

 

 **_Kind of impressive this small thing made it so far_ ** **_without_ ** **_your help huh Sans?_ **

 

Damn guilt….it was like some kind of disease now.  Almost everybody in the Underground was feeling guilty so it was only natural he feel guilty too.  Not that he should feel guilty.  He was the first one besides the lady behind the door to understand humans were not all evil.  

 

All the same, he didn’t notice his hold on the human tightened until they gave a low moan of discomfort.  He quickly let go and when he looked up he saw the human's two monster friends had caught up to them.  They were looking at Sans cautiously, definitely ready to pounce on him if he made a move to even try to hurt the kid.  He heard that voice, that harsh judgmental voice again.

 

**_Hurting them would involve you doing something Sans.  A quality you seem to lack._ **

 

“Hey kiddo...I heard you’re going to the core.  How about grabbing some dinner with me first?”

 

His voice came out strained and all three of them noticed it.  The human looked concerned, which only made Sans feel worse.  They looked at the bunny monster and the cat monster.  Were they actually asking permission if they could go?

 

“You don’t mind do you?  I don’t want to seem like I’m bailing on you or anything-”

 

The Nice Cream guy smiled and ruffled their hair.  “Don’t worry I won’t tell your boyfriend.”

 

They huffed in annoyance, further reminding Sans just how young they were.  

“Stop saying that.”

 

The cat monster laughed, the cancer stick’s smoke pouring out of his mouth.

 

“Go nuts little buddy.  Me and Nicey will let everyone now what’s going on.”

 

With that the two monsters gave Sans an...almost threatening look before they past him and the human heading left.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about that look, which is why he watched them until they completely vanished from his sights before he turned to face the human.

 

“Great, thanks for treating me.”

 

The human covered their mouth with their tiny hands and giggled.  Sans winked and moved a little to his left.  Frisk followed him happily, taking a hold of his hand without warning.  He tried to steady his shaking.  Their hands were so small and soft and just for one second he pictured Undyne’s spear brutally impaling them while he sat sleeping at his sentry station not even a few yards away from the the fight.  

 

**_Like you would have stopped it._ **

 

His hand tightened over theirs, but this time is wasn’t so painful.  “Over here.  I know a shortcut.”

 

He teleported them into one of the many empty booths inside the overpriced MTT restaurant.  The only good thing was that the darker colors made for a calming atmosphere.  It was a good and serious place to have this talk in.  Everything was quieter in here so he could really emphasize the importance the story about the nice lady behind the door, his promise and why that helped him.  

 

He watched the human look around the place in an uncomfortable type of wonderment and as they did that Sans wondered about the human’s life on the surface.  Were they rich?  Were they poor?  Were they close to their family?.....Why did they fall down the hole?  Maybe they’d tell him later.  He wanted to learn more about them.  Maybe there was a reason why they were like they way they were.

 

“Well, here we are.”

 

His voice broke the silence and the human looked at him with a small smile on their face.  In a way he felt bad.  They really did look uncomfortable here, but this was going to be an uncomfortable talk.  

 

“So..your journey’s almost over, huh?  You must really wanna go home.  Hey I know the feeling buddo.  Though….maybe sometimes it’s better to take what’s given to you-”

 

“No.”

 

The answer was so cold and so quick that Sans remained quiet as he watched the human’s body tense up.  He looked into their eyes and saw they weren’t really looking at him.  They were looking somewhere dark in their past.  He shook his head.  Like he said before:  the past is not a good place to be in.  

 

“It’s never okay to just accept things no matter what somebody tells you.  I can make things better for myself and I don’t need anybody-”

They paused looking at Sans.  They offered an embarrassed smile.

 

“Sorry.”

 

He chuckled, his curiosity about the human now growing.  

 

“No problem kiddo.  I know the feeling.  Say, I wanted to ask you something and I’m going be pretty blunt:  Do you hate my brother and Captain Undyne?”

 

“Yes.”

 

He didn’t know why that answered surprised him, especially when he had been expecting it.  Maybe it was the way they said it without a moment’s hesitation.  Maybe it was because they legitimately seemed sorry and in pain to admitting it.  He never figured hatred and being sorry for that hatred could happen, but this human was making a lot of things happen in the underground he never thought would happen.  

 

They shrugged their shoulders when Sans didn’t say anything for a second.  He watched as they swallowed the lump in their throat as they tried to explain.  

 

“I know he’s your brother and Undyne’s your friend, but they….have no problem with hurting and killing others ya know….and it doesn’t matter if they changed…..or if they’re sorry…..they can’t take back what they’ve done.”

 

To their credit, they weren’t crying yet but they were close to it.  Sans could tell they really hated themselves for this feeling and that’s probably the reason why he didn’t feel that surge of anger enter him when the human made the cold ( **_and correct)_ ** statement about the two.  They felt just as much guilt as Papyrus and Undyne felt.  Now it became clear that Sans needed to fix all three of them.

 

He smiled warmly at the human and petted their hand.  The gesture seemed to calm the human down.  

 

“Hey let me tell you a story.”

 

He took a deep breathe and gave the human a few seconds to focus their attention on him solely before he began.  

 

“So I’m a sentry in Snowdin Forest, right?  I sit out there and watch for humans.  It’s kind of boring.  Fortunately in the deep forest there’s this huge locked door.”

 

The human perked up at this, reminding Sans they came through that door at the start of the journey.  He’d have to ask them what the lady behind the door looked like after this was over.  

 

“And it’s perfect for practicing knock knock jokes.  So one day, I’m knocking ‘em out, like usual.  I knock on the door and say “knock knock.”  And suddenly from the other side….I hear a woman’s voice.  “Who is there?”  So I naturally I respond:  “dishes”  “dishes who?”  “Dishes a very bad joke.  “Then she just howls with laughter.  Like it’s the best joke she’s heard in a hundred years.  So I keep ‘em coming and she keeps laughing.  She’s the best audience I’ve ever had. “

 

To his delight, the human groaned at the joke, but after a few seconds starting giggling.  Sans started chuckling too...the memory was still so fresh in his mind.  He remembered the snow falling on his skull as he told joke after joke and she wouldn’t stop laughing and the late afternoon day slowly dissolved into the evening.  That day, he didn't want to leave to head home.   He never knew what cold felt like, but the feeling that had been growing inside him could only be described as warmth as the lady behind the door laughed and laughed.  She was not only his best audience, but the first audience he ever had.  

 

He looked at the human who had a wide grin on their face, eagerly waiting for Sans to continue.  

 

“Then after a dozen of ‘em SHE knocks and says……”Knock Knock!”  I say “who’s there?” “Old lady.” “Old lady who?”  “Oh!  I did not know you could yodel!”

 

Sans paused as he watched the human’s shoulders shook with laughter.  Jeez, this human had bad taste in jokes just as much as the lady behind the door did.  

 

“We kept telling each other jokes for hours.  Eventually, I had to leave.  Papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story.”

 

He tried not to frown when the human’s muscles tighten at the mention of the taller skeleton.  He reminded himself the human wouldn’t feel that way by the end of the story though.

 

“But she told me to come by again and so I did.  Then I did again and again.  It’s a thing now.  Telling bad jokes through the door.  It rules.”

 

The human’s smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger.  “I know who that is.  She really is a nice lady.  Treated me like I was her kid even though she knew I was human.”

 

Sans watched as the smile turned into a frown.  “I think she’s lonely and sad…..I’m glad she has a friend like you though.”

 

She not the only one, Sans thought before he took a deep breath and continued his story.  

 

“.......One day, though, I noticed she wasn’t laughing very much.  I asked her what was up.  Then she told me something strange.  If a human ever comes through this door…...could you please please promise something?”

 

The human leaned closer.  Sans watched their reaction closely with what he said next.

 

“Watch over them, and protect them will you not?”

 

And then something weird happen.  Every happy emotion on the human drained completely from their face and a more mature and serious expression took over.  It was really odd and a part of Sans, that little nagging mocking voice in his mind, was telling him to reconsider the story for another day.  Like any other time that voice piped up, Sans ignored it.  

 

“Now, I hate making promises.  And this woman, I don’t even know her name…..but someone who sincerely likes bad jokes…...has an integrity you can’t say “no” to.”

 

Still emotionless, but listening to every word, the human nodded in agreement.  Sans breathed in relief.  Okay this was good.  They were taking this serious….they knew this was more than a fun little story they were listening to.  

 

Sans turned away from the human and took a very deep and unhappy breathe as he tried not to think of the other humans who exited that very door before he ever made that promise.

 

“Do you get what I’m saying?  That promise I made to her….You know what would have happened if she hadn’t said anything?”

 

The human didn’t answer, but to be honest, he didn’t really expect them to.  Not at this point.  He turned back to them.  

 

**“........buddy.   You’d be dead where you stand.”**

 

Sans watched the human closely, and as he did he realized his sockets were pitch black.   Quickly he changed them back, but maybe it was a second too late.  The serious expression from the human’s face shattered and they dropped their head in silence.  

 

He coughed hoping to get their attention so he could finish his story but the human refused to look back up at him.   And suddenly he wasn’t feeling to good about how he worded this story.

 

He started to **_regret_ ** the way he told it when the human finally began to move again.  As his comment sank in, the human’s body tensed up while their nails dug angrily into the armrests of their chair.  

 

When they finally looked up at him, their once warm and loving eyes were cold and hate filled.  And the tears, the tears were streaming from their face.  And suddenly Sans would have given anything to take this moment back….but he couldn’t...so he did the only thing he could do.  

 

He tried to make them smile and feel safe with a joke like he did when he first met them.

 

“Hey, lighten up bucko!  I’m just joking with you.”

 

To his growing dismay, the human didn’t “lighten up.”  In fact, their face grew even more angry and miserable with each word.  He gulped and tried again as he pointed out a crucial fact.  

 

“.....Beside haven’t I done a great job protecting you?”

 

“N-no.  I died more t-times th-than I can c-count.”

 

The human’s voice started to choke as they spoke.  And suddenly the guilt started to eat away at Sans.  Of course he knew they had died, but it really didn’t matter because they alway came back.  He protected them by making sure they weren’t killing any monsters.  If they really needed help to the point that they might end up hurting a monster he’d step in.  

 

 **_Okay Sans, go with that.  That makes sense._ ** How he hated that voice.  

 

“Sans…..are you s-s-saying that if you ha-hadn’t m-made that p-promise, and I w-w-walked out th-that door you’d have k-killed me?”

 

Oh God….no….they were missing the point.  He tried to grab their hand in reassurance, but they jerked away from him.  Now their teeth were set in a small snarl.  As they spoke their grew louder and the few monsters at were in the restaurant were now looking at the two of them.

 

“A-are you saying you’d kill me on the spot without even knowing who I was?”

 

San shook his head quickly.

 

“No kiddo listen, ya see I didn’t think humans were good when I made that promise.  I just made it to keep an old lady happy but over time I started thinking about it and I realized that all humans couldn’t be bad if  that kind and sweet lady thought humans were worth protecting.  Ya see?”

 

The human started to get up from their chair.  Sans panicked and grabbed their wrist pushing them back in their chair.  They gave a small cry of pain and the monsters who were in the restaurant were beginning to yell at Sans to let them go.  He ignored them.

 

“Ya see kiddo, that’s what’s happening to Undyne.  She didn’t know any better about humans until you came along and now she’s changing.  And Papyrus…” Sans started to rambled desperately as the human tried to tug their wrist free from Sans’ boney hand.  

 

“Papyrus didn’t even know humans were gonna be killed.  He just wanted to be in the Royal Guard cause he just wanted to have friends.  Ya know that too don’t ya?  I know he told you.”

 

His voice started to escalate.  Mr. Snowdrake, an elderly monster and a more popular comedian at the Resort stomped over to them and glared angrily at Sans.

 

“Let go of them!  You’re hurting them!”

 

Sans ignored him and was going to try again, but the human began screaming at him

 

“How’d you know I was a human Sans?!  Only monsters who’ve killed before know what a human is!  Are you a killer too?!  Or did you just watch and enjoy the show?!”  

 

He let go of the human as their words really did feel like a physical blow.  This human….they kept making Sans go into that dark part of the past.  Ever since that promise really began to mean something, he tried not to visit those memories too much.  

 

The human stumbled back at the sudden freedom and would have fallen down if Mr. Snowdrake wasn’t there to catch their fall.  They glared at him as they spoke. Mr. Snowdrake was trying to push the human away from Sans in hopes of defusing the violent argument.  

 

“You made a promise you didn’t even want to make nor did you keep.  I died a lot of times Sans.  In a lot of violent ways too, but you know that too don’t you?  I guess that’s the only part of your promise you did keep.  You just watched me die over and over again didn’t ya?”  

 

Sans didn’t answer.  What could he really say?  The guilt...it really was too much.  He never did kill any of those other humans….

 

**_But you would have if you were given the chance.  Undyne and Asgore just beat you to it._ **

 

The situation would have been funny if that cold look of hatred wasn’t pointed on him.  It was really really funny...how could a skeleton have a hard time breathing?  A skeleton didn’t even have lungs.

 

“L-Look kiddo, I k-know this is b-bad, b-but m-maybe w-we could start over?  Be f-friends a-again?  All of u-us?  You, m-me, Papyrus and Undyne?”

 

Heh….how can a skeleton stumble over a sentence?  They don’t even have a tongue.

 

To his relief the human nodded.  It was short-lived.  

 

“Okay, **_you_ ** can start over.  You don’t have to keep that promise, in fact, just forget you even made it.  Don’t worry I won’t even notice the difference.”

 

The words were like a slap in the face and suddenly Sans’ began to feel angry again.

 

“You forgave all the other monsters who attacked you.”

 

The human shook their head.  

 

“I don’t hate monsters who attacked me.  I understand what’s been taught about humans down here.  What I can’t forgive is monsters who **_won’t stop until they've killed._ **  Papyrus was okay with seeing me dead.  Undyne killed me so many times and killed once before.  Shyren killed me even when though I was just seeing if she was okay, those two royal guards killed me without a moment’s hesitation….and now you…I’d be dead where I stand?  You wouldn’t have even known me and yet you wouldn’t have stopped until I was dead.”

 

Sans felt something in his soul shatter.  This wasn’t suppose to happen.  As he looked back up at the human, they both came to an unspoken acknowledgment.  It was true. If Sans hadn’t made that promise, he really would have killed them on the spot over and over again no matter what they said or what they did to prove they were harmless.

 

A mean little smile curled up on the human’s face.

 

“Aren’t I lucky to have a friend as merciful as you?  It’s a good thing too.  I might have died if it weren’t for you.”

 

With that statement Mr. Snowdrake ushered the small human out of the restaurant.

 

Sans suddenly couldn’t stand.  He sat down in the chair finally looking towards the monsters who had yelled at him when he grabbed at the human.  Every pair of eyes he met glared at him before they quickly looked away.  

 

And suddenly he realized he needed to talk to the lady behind the door.  And with that he vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 is here too!


	9. Comedy, Puzzles, Garbage, and Diva Behavior!

The weird bird snowflake hybrid monster took Frisk’s hand and pulled them away from the restaurant, until they stood outside Bratty and Catty’s shop.  Frisk was furiously wiping their tears away and when they noticed the monster watching them with a look of deep fatherly concern, Frisk turned away from him so the monster couldn’t see them.  

 

They knew they were being rude.  They knew they should have been thanking the monster for standing up against Sans and taking them away from him, but…...it hurt.  It hurt losing another person they thought was a noble and gentle friend.  Instead, he was just like Undyne and Papyrus.  The idea of human life was just as meaningless to him as it was to the fish warrior and taller skeleton.   

 

Sans……..they forced a choking sob back down their throat even though they were sure the nice old monster heard it.  His goofy smile, his stupid harmless puns, his little hints about fighting Papyrus, his laziness, amd his love for bad bar food, ……..how could somebody like that be so……...bad?  So mean….so uncaring…..so soulless?

 

Frisk tried not to think about the conversation they just had with him, because it was really hurting them….and it was hurting them everywhere.  Papyrus’ betrayal was heart wrenching, and Undyne’s brutal continuous kills were nightmarish, but what just happened…..it wouldn’t have hurt so bad, they thought Sans had really cared about them.  Frisk held their hand to their chest, trying to calm their soul down.  It would tighten up and then loosen a second later, only to repeat this pattern in a frenzy manner.  It honestly felt as though their soul was having a panic attack…..or maybe it was sobbing uncontrollably….or maybe both or maybe it was attacking itself.  

 

“You don’t have to do that.  I have a kid…..kids cry….they cry a lot…....so do adults….I think adults cry more than kids...”  

 

The old monster’s caring and gruff voice was soothing and sweet and easily broke through Frisk’s dark and miserable thoughts like a ray of sunshine.  And just like that, the pain weakened and suddenly Frisk felt even worse about their behavior towards the kindly monster.  Shoving Sans out of their mind for the moment, Frisk took a deep breath, wiped the remainder of their tears away and turned towards the monster with their best attempt at a smile

 

As they looked him over, Frisk felt like they’ve met him before.  He looked so familiar and yet, not really.  Well, whoever he was, he was friend……..for now……..Frisk shook their head.  This place……..this place really was bad…...Frisk never hated and distrusted people so much...but it wasn’t fair to distrust everybody on sight.  

 

“Hey thanks for h-helping me out.  I’m Frisk…...Frisk the human.”  

 

Since their journey first began, Frisk never bothered to mention the fact they were a human to the monsters they've met, but at the same time they never denied being human when they were called out on it…..but since the Underground pretty much knew it now….Frisk figured they may as well be straightforward about it.  

 

The older monster nodded.  “I know, I saw you on TV.  You don’t have a good enough personality to stay on the air though.  Not funny enough.”

 

Frisk shrugged and smiled, the words not really bothering them.  At this point in their young lives, they had heard worse from monsters and humans alike and those unkind people used crueler tones.  This old monster was stating it like it was a fact with no hatred or malice in his voice.  

“I’m more of background kind of person," they stated.

 

The snowflake monster grinned a little bit.  

 

“My name is Snowdrake.  That’s also my son’s name.  So people call me Mr. S.  I’m the resort comedian.  I’m very funny.  People laugh at my jokes. ”

 

It clinked with Frisk.  They never met this monster, but they did meet his son back in Snowdin.  He was one of the weird monster who attacked them, but it had nothing to do with Frisk being human.  He just stood in their way and forced them to hear his comedy routine.  When Frisk had first attempted to leave without laughing, the young snow monster lost his temper, though it also looked as though Frisk may have also hurt his feelings.  In response them their rude behavior, the monster threw those strange burning snowflakes at them.  So Frisk decided to laugh instead of running, a much better and more polite option in their opinion.  The young snowflake monster’s face had immediately lightened up and he no longer became a threat….if he ever was one.  

 

Though they did remember one thing he said when Frisk started laughing at his terrible ice jokes:   **_“See?  Laughs!  Dad was wrong.”_ **

 

Frisk gave Mr. S another once over.  They figured this must have been “dad.”  Before they could mention they most likely have met their son, the old monster’s face fell and he looked sad and miserable.  

 

“Now, my son he wants to be a comedian like his fathah.  But his jokes aren’t funny.  He tells these awful puns.  He’s an embarrassment to our family.”

 

The comment took Frisk by surprise……..not because of the sheer cruelty of the remark, but because the old monster clearly didn’t mean it.  It fact when Frisk looked closer at him, there were actual tears lingering in his icy blue eyes.  Mr. S started to laugh, but it wasn’t really a laugh.  It sounded like noises mixed with despair and pain.  Frisk was familiar with those sounds.

 

“Hahahahahaha…...that’ not funny.”

 

No, Frisk thought.  That’s not funny at all.  Nothing is funny about this.  A part of Frisk wanted Mr. S to stop.  They could tell a part of Mr. S wanted to stop this conversation as well, but he continued.  It was if he wanted to torture himself.  

 

“Since his mothah passed on he couldn’t stand living at home anymore.  So he ran away. I haven’t seen him since.”

 

Frisk took a sharp inhale and a memory started to boil at the center of their mind.  A memory that they desperately tried not to think about, because whenever they thought about it, they couldn’t sleep and when they couldn’t sleep, they would just lie in their bed at the orphanage and think about it.

 

 I’m a terrible fathah…..hahahahaha...that’s not funny.”

 

After a few seconds Frisk spoke.  They didn’t know if they had any right to say this to someone they just met but they said it anyway.

 

“I know where he is, maybe you can-”

 

“I know where he is too.  I can’t apologize.  I can’t face my son.  Hahahahaha…...I’m a coward.  I say cruel things when I’m sad.......Hahahahaha.....that's not funny.”  

Oh…….Frisk couldn’t think of anything to say, but didn’t they know somebody who was like that back on the Surface world?  A person who spouted out horrible and cruel things in the heat of **_her_ ** anger and resorted to physical violence….even if it was only that one time?  Frisk wondered how different Mr. S was from that person.  They took another look at his face.  The tears seemed frozen at the ridge of the old monster's eyes now, but they were still there.  Mr. S was way different than **_her_ ** and in a good way.  In a fantastic, wonderful and tragic way, Mr. S was different than **_her._ **  

 

They stared at each other for a second, before Frisk offered him a small smile.

 

“I think you need some new material for your stand-up bit.”

 

He nodded.  “I think so too.”

 

************************************************************************************************

Alphys frantically searched her televisions trying to find the human, but they were nowhere to be seen.  This was bad….she only looked away for five?  Ten?  Maybe it was fifteen minutes?  All in all, the human shouldn’t be this hard to find, after all there were tons of cameras all throughout Hotland…….unless…….unless…...they weren’t as determined as Alphys thought.  The thought sent a cold chill down her spine.  

 

What if something happened to them to a point where they couldn’t come back?  That seemed incredibly unlikely though…...they survived Undyne’s murders...er….killing…ummm....attacks...yeah that was it, **_attacks_ ** .  They survived Undyne’s many harsh **_attacks_ ** and bounced back up from it, good as new.

 

She searched her tvs again, her anxiety spiking to a dangerous possible panic attack level.  Finally she glanced towards the screen that showed the staged Newsroom where Mettaton and the human were supposed to meet next.  Mettaton was sitting behind his desk, looking more impatient than ever.  The human should have made it there by now.   The square robot glanced down at his wrist where his MTT Brand watch sparkled dazzlingly and then stared up at the camera Alphys was looking at.

 

The scientist winced as she watched him slowly pull his cellphone out of his suit’s breast pocket and began dialing a number.  A second later her phone rang.

 

“Where is the human Alphys?!”

 

His harsh impatient voice further increased Alphys’ anxiety level.  It was already hard enough for the scientist to act somewhat normal and rational in a peaceful atmosphere, but she always broke down whenever she felt pressured.  

 

“I d-d-don’t know M-Mettaton, I l-looked away f-for a s-second-”

His mechanical laugh interrupted her sentence.

 

“Well **_Doctor,_ ** if you don’t know where they are, perhaps you should give them a call.  Use that phone for something other than updating your less than impressive status.”

 

“I w-w-was disabling the e-elevator.  Remember?  T-that was the plan-”

 

Clinked.  

 

Mettaton hung up, leaving Alphys feeling stupid.  Of course she should have called them!  It was so obvious. .....Though Mettaton didn’t have to be so mean about it.  She quickly but not so gracefully dialed human’s number and waited.  

 

It rang once before the human’s voice answered.  Alphys nearly wept with happiness.  The human was okay!.....and obviously lost, which meant this was another opportunity to impress the human.  She would guide them to the Newsroom, showing off her extensive knowledge of the area and after all those silly fake bombs were diffused, Alphys would heroically defuse the huge bomb “saving” the human’s life.  

 

“Hey Doctor Alphys!”

 

The human’s happy and overexcited voice made Alphys feel joyful.  She was incredibly happy that another person, human or not, gave her such a warm and wonderful greeting.  It had been awhile since Alphys actually felt….well….wanted.  Ever since Mettaton got his body, their relationship had dwindled.  Undyne and her tried to hang out, but their schedules never really corresponded with each other.  They had tons of conversations, but it wasn’t the same as talking to someone in person.  And ever since the DT experiments, Alphys was…...scared to leave her lab.  If she left she might run into one of her many patients' family members and then they’d ask questions and...and...and..what would she say?  What could she say?  It was a situation she didn't want to deal with, so she stayed inside all the time now.  

 

Everybody in the Underground knew _**nearly** _ every detail of the Royal Scientist.  Well everybody but the human knew.  As far as the human was concerned, Alphys was their guide through the Underground and would do anything to keep them safe.  To them she wasn’t a failure who avoided the many letters her patients' families sent her asking her how their loved ones were doing.  To the human, she was a hero….somebody who could help them...somebody who wouldn’t let them down…..and to Alphys, the human kept her from feeling lonely and sad.  

 

“H-hey F-frisk.  I’m g-getting a l-little worried about you.  I c-can’t find you on a-any of m-my cameras.”  

 

In the background, Alphys heard two very familiar giggling voices.  Bratty and Catty...jeez….it almost felt like years she hung out with those two down in the dump…..Alphys really missed those days when she would take those two around and explain all the unknown items to the girls and they would look at her as though she were a genius…...that was before the experiments though.

 

“OH MY!  IT’S THE HUMAN!” Alphys heard Catty screech.

 

“What’s up babe?” Frisk said and Alphys heard the two girls squeal.  

 

“Oh….I have great news Doc.”

 

Doc?  Alphys smiled at the nickname.  It was her first ever nickname.

 

“While I was walking around, two cool monsters helped me.  I’m at the Resort now.”

 

The smile shattered from Alphys’ face.  Somebody else helped them?  The panic began to build in her as she realized the first part of her plan to “save” the human was ruined.  She was supposed to save the human from Mettaton two more times and then help them “fix” the elevator and then save them a last time by “deactivating” Mettaton.  By then Alphys was confident that she would be able to convince the human to stay with her as opposed to progressing to Asgore.  

 

But her plan was way off now.  What if those monsters who helped the human became their new friends?  Alphys was sure if that happened she would be forgotten and if Mettaton taught her anything, it was if she wasn’t being useful in some way to her friends, they didn’t really need her.  She agreed with that too.  When she really evaluated her life, she didn’t have much to offer anybody when it came to just herself.  

 

The hand that was holding the phone started to tremble.  What could she do…..?

 

“You still here doc?”

 

The human’s voice broke her growing despair.  She strained her voice to sound normal.

 

“S-s-s-s-sorry, m-must of l-l-l-lost connection for a second.”

 

She heard the human’s cute giggle.

 

“That’s alright.  Say, why don’t we take a break for the day y’know?  I’m not……..feeling too good at the moment.”

 

The health doctor part of the lizard came out and when that part came out, Alphys never stuttered no matter who it was.  At times she wished she was still a doctor of medicine as opposed to the Royal Scientist.  She was much more happier as a doctor who treated patients for common illnesses as opposed to taking up the job as Gaster’s lab assistant and then becoming the Royal scientist after he died.  

 

“Are you feeling ill?”

 

She heard the human take a deep breathe.  

 

“Yeah I’m okay.  Just been a little emotional today.  Don’t want to get into too much details, but I need a break.  I hope that’s okay!”

 

A surge of guilt went through the scientist.  Were Mettaton and her staged performance wearing the little human down?  That didn't make sense though.  The entire time Alphys and they communicated, the human always seemed to be in good spirits.  Did something happen during the time Alphys looked away?  

 

“So Doc, we still on for our date tonight?”

 

Alphys nearly dropped the phone and her face became bright red.

 

“D-d-d-d-d-d-date?”

 

The human laughed happily at Alphys’ flustered response.  

 

“Yeah.  Our date.  You know anime and a sleep over?”

 

Oh.  And suddenly pure and breathtaking happiness swelled in Alphys’ chest.  They still wanted to be her friend and it didn’t matter that she didn’t help them reach the Resort!  They really liked her for her!

 

“Of c-c-c-c-course it’s still on,” she looked at her bland watch and frowned uneasily.  She needed to visit her patients, feed them, run her tests on them and make sure Mrs. Snowdrake was doing okay.  “Can you just w-w-wait an hour or s-so?  I n-need to f-finish s-some work.”

 

“Okee dokee.”  

********************************************************************************************************

Papyrus heard a knock on his door and quickly turned the stove off.  He hadn’t stopped trying to reach the human, but he needed to eat.  Even though he had lost interest in becoming part of the Royal Guard, he was still making an attempt to follow his daily routine.

 

After he was done eating, he was going to try and redesign his puzzles into more welcoming games for any other human who might fall in the Underground.  He had no desire to capture them anymore and hopefully Frisk would see his actions as an Olive Branch and in truth, it was also something to keep him occupied since Undyne wanted to be by herself at the moment.  

 

As he walked to the door, he couldn’t help but grow a little hopeful.  Perhaps Sans' or Alphys’ plan had work and the human was on the other side of the door wanting to be friends again.  The thought made Papyrus quicken his steps and in one motion he flung the door open with his brightest, biggest and most welcoming smile he had……...Dogamy and Dogaressa stood on the other side.  And even though Papyrus tried to maintain his cheerful face, he felt his smile drop a little in disappointment.  The dogs either didn’t notice or they simply didn’t care.  Well Dogaressa looked like she didn’t care.  Her lover was looking down and seemed a tad bit uneasy about something.

 

“OH…..GREETING MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL GUARD!  HOW MAY I HELP YOU?”

 

Dogamy finally looked up and offered Papyrus a friendly smile.  Only Papyrus could tell it wasn’t a **_happy_ ** friendly smile.  It looked sad and nervous.  

 

“Hey Papyrus.  How are things going?”

 

Papyrus straightened his spin and stood in a heroic stance, trying to keep his upbeat attitude up in front of the dogs.  

 

“OH.  I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM DOING VERY WELL THANK YOU, NOBLE ROYAL-”

 

Dogaressa gave an annoyed snort, interrupting the skeleton in mid-sentence.

 

“We and the rest of our dog pack have resigned our positions as members of the Royal Guard,” the female dog declared curtly as she looked over Papyrus.

Now Papyrus couldn’t hold the shock from covering his face.  Doggo, Dogamy, Lesser, Greater and Dogaressa were all leaving the Royal Guards?  They had been Guards for as long as Papyrus remembered.  What made them all leave?  He was about to ask, but Dogaressa started talking again.

 

“Since a majority of the monsters in the Underground are now expressing an unfavorable and deep reluctance on using human souls to break the barrier, a number of issues must be solved in order to make our time in the Underground more bearable until a more peaceful and humane solution to our freedom is discovered so humans and monster can live in peace together.”

 

Papyrus sighed in relief.  He was truly happy about that decision and it was relieving to know that the human was no longer in danger of being killed and having their soul taken.  He was sure that once Asgore heard that many of his subjects no longer desired his original plan, he would have no problem retracting his degree that all humans must die.  

 

Dogamy shifted nervously.  “That’s kind of why we’re here.  As you know, the Underground is getting pretty crowded…….your puzzles take up a lot of space.”

 

Papyrus’ eyes widened as the reason for their visit became clear.  Dogaressa took one look at his heartbroken face and gave a small growl.  Dogamy winced and took a step back from her.  She had been short-tempered and irritable ever since they left the Resort.  

 

“Look….I’m sorry, but we have to make new homes.  There is an overcrowding problem and your puzzles have got to go.”

 

Papyrus nodded.  He understood, but he did built those puzzles.  That meant something…...and he built them with the intention of helping his fellow monsters, even if the Puzzles were made to trap humans.  Now they were going to be used to welcome humans. Didn’t that mean something to them?  

 

“MAYBE WE COULD KEEP ONE TO WELCOME THE HUMANS-”

 

Dogaressa lost her temper and even when her lover wrapped his arm around her shoulder, the female dog couldn't stop the angry and harsh words from leaving her.

 

“Look Papyrus, I’m not Undyne so I’m not going to indulge in your ridiculous childish nonsense!  We need space for new homes, we are tearing those stupid puzzles apart.  We only figured we should let you know we’re doing it, just in case you wanted to collect any material you used to make them.”

 

Papyrus flinched at her words, and after a few seconds, he simply nodded his head in agreement.  Dogamy shot him an apologetic smile before the two lovers left the Skeleton Brothers’ residence.  

 

Papyrus watched them leave and began to follow them.  He wanted to help.  He was still the Great Papyrus after all and would offer his assistance to all who needed it…….because that’s what great monsters do.  They help those who need it……..they helped…..those….who need….it…..

 

And suddenly Papyrus didn’t feel so Great.

*****************************************************************************************************

Frisk couldn’t help but instantly like the two preppy and upbeat female monsters that ran the store inside the huge garbage can.  

 

After Mr.S left them, the two monsters ushered Frisk into their shop, claiming the other monsters at the main Resort center weren’t ready for them to enter yet.  

 

“What do you mean?”  Frisk had asked, and despite what Burgerpants had told them, Frisk couldn’t help but imagine an angry mob of monsters waiting for them and attacking as soon as they were spotted.

 

Bratty and Catty must of saw the distrust on Frisk’s face.

 

“Oh!  It’s nothing bad!”

 

“No not bad at all!”

 

“You see when they first heard you were coming, they nearly destoryed the Resort in terror.”

 

“We thought you were gonna kill us.”

 

“But after a few nice and logical monsters talked to us-”

 

“And informed us you were a friend to everybody you’ve met-”

 

“We changed our opinions about you!”

 

“So now you are a friend to us!”

 

The conversation was hard to keep up with since both girls were completing each other sentences, but Frisk got the general message.  Except for one thing……

 

“But why can’t I go?”

 

Catty giggled.  “Nobody wants you to know they were panicking over your arrival.  They think it’ll hurt your feelings, so their plan is to clean everything up while we distract you with our hotness.  And once everything is clean and you enter, the monsters are going to run their businesses like normal.  You know….treat you as though you were another monster.”

 

The girls’ explanation and the Resort monsters’ plan was the most ridiculous and dumbest thing Frisk had ever heard.  And in saying that, it was also the kindest and most amazing thing that the monsters could have done to further prove they no longer wanted to hurt Frisk.  Frisk felt their soul start to throb again, only this time it wasn’t in pain.  It felt warm and so full of love and it felt so strong.   

 

“Yeah, but don’t tell anybody we told you that.  We were supposed to keep it a secret,” Bratty said breaking Frisk from their warm glow, but that was okay.  The warmness was still there.

 

As they waited, Frisk and the two monster girls talked…..well….Bratty and Catty did...Frisk just listened completely enthralled with what they were staying.  The girls were cheerful talked about everything from Asgore to Alphys (who apparently was a really good friend of theirs) to Mettaton (their future husband….but they didn’t seem too sure when they said that).  And then they finally talked about Burgerpants…..and how he got his name.

 

Catty was finishing the story with a wide Cheshire grin on her face.  Needless to say, it was cringe worthy.

 

“.....And all those burgers weighed him down and his pants fell down in front of everybody!  It was pretty funny!”

 

Frisk shook their head.  “Poor guy.”

 

Bratty nodded in agreement before she erupted into laughter.

 

“You know, now that I think about it, he’s actually a pretty chilled fellow if he allows other monsters to call him that.  I would be embarrassed if I were him.”

 

Catty laughed as well before her face became a little more thoughtful.

 

“Not every guy would steal expensive food to impress two garbage saleswomen.”  

 

Frisk nodded.  “He’s a really good guy.  He and Nicey are….well…..it’s nice to know they have my back.”

 

Bratty and Catty looked at each other, the smiles vanishing from their faces.  And Frisk couldn’t help but notice the mood became more serious.  The emotion didn't match the two female monsters.

 

“We have your back too.  Don’t forget that.”  

 

“And just to show you we’re friends, here is a little token of our friendship!”

 

Bratty handed Frisk a small key.  It was a little worn down and rusted.  Frisk frowned and looked up the two grinning monsters.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Your welcome!”  They both said.

 

“What’s it for?”

 

“We have no idea!” They both said again.

 

They looked at each other and erupted into laughter.  After a second Frisk joined them in their laughter because….why not? They looked down at their key again and noticed something new.  The key had ghost designs engraved on it.  To Frisk, the designs looked a lot like Napstablook...hmmm…….did this key belong to Napstablook?

 

Frisk thought back to the sad and shy ghost that ran that snail farm in Waterfall and invited Frisk into their house to hang out and listen to music.  They liked that ghost a lot.  They looked at the key again.  Maybe he would know what it was for.  After their sleepover with Alphys, they would make it a point to visit him.  Granted they’ve been wanting to check up on their lonely friend for so time, but the idea of running into Undyne again hadn’t been too appealing.

 

Their grip on the key tightened.  They were gonna visit him tomorrow and that was a sure fire guarantee.

*****************************************************************************************************

As Mettaton entered his private and beautifully decorated room, located in a more secluded part of Alphys’ True Lab.  Once inside, he tore his anchorman suit off, shredding the expensive handcrafted clothes into scraps.  To say he was angry would have been an understatement.  The ghost-turned-robot was livid and for good reason too.

 

He spent countless hours setting up his Newsroom to make it seem authentic.  He practiced his lines non-stop and he even created all those bomb props himself, and the human already made it to the Resort?!  All his hard work…..WASTED!  Instead of waiting behind that New Anchor desk, he could have been hosting a number of his more popular shows.  

 

He shook his head and sat down at his vanity mirror, trying to calm himself down, but no matter what, he couldn’t help but seethe over the fact that his adoring fans were treated to nothing but boredom for the past few hours.  How exciting was it for them to watch the human explore Hotland and solve Alphys’ puzzles?  How was that entertaining?  

 

He shuddered in misery as a new thought crossed his mind.  His ratings!  His lacking presence during the human’s travels in Hotland probably destroyed his ratings!  Monsters watched the shows because he was on them, that was a fact and it was backed up by many of his phone calls and letters he received night and day from his beautiful fans.  But now, because of that human, Alphys and those two meddling monsters whoever they were, his ratings were probably buried in the ground.

 

Forcing a over dramatic choked sob back down, Mettaton reached for his laptop and searched for the most current ratings for his Live Channel.  When he got the results his jaw dropped, or it would have if he had one.  

 

His ratings were the highest they’ve ever been.  It seemed like everybody in the whole Underground had tuned in to watch **_his_ ** adventure with the human.  And all his hatred, annoyance and resentment melted away.  His giddiness returned as he closed his laptop and stood up.  

 

Of course his ratings wouldn’t have dropped.  He was the most famous celebrity in the whole Underground after all and nobody could really stop themselves from watching his brilliant and well scripted shows.  It was just impossible to do.  

 

Now feeling like his old perfect self, Mettaton wheeled himself to his answering machine that he set up solely for his fans to leave their messages on if his shows didn’t offer them the chance to call in and offer their opinions.  It was a rather great idea if Mettaton said so himself.  He got to receive even more praise for his ingenious show ideas and the fans would feel like the glittery robot was taking the extra step to please all his fans.  Everybody wins!

 

He looked down to see how many messages his fans left him.  Once again he could barely contain his shock.  It seemed his Live Channel coverage of the human was a big hit!  Grinning he pressed the play button.

 

**_“Hey Mettaton……...I just wanted to say……...I’m enjoying the show…...the human is a good actor…..but not as good as you!.......I have to go now…..”_ **

 

Blooky, Mettaton thought as the message clinked off.  The robot pressed another button saving that message.  His cousin was always the first one to call in or leave a message.  Mettaton saved every message.  He hadn’t talk to his cousin in so long.  He really needed to call him soon, but not today.  Today was a busy day.  Maybe tomorrow? Yeah, he’d call his beloved Blooky tomorrow.  And if he was busy tomorrow, well there was always the next day after that right?

 

He pressed another button that allowed all the messages to play one right after another one.  He sighed as he lied down on his velvety red couch and listened.

 

**_“Hi Mettaton, I’ve been a big fan of your game shows for many years, but I don’t think today’s game show was one of your best performances.  But I still love you!”_ **

 

Clink.  The message ended and Mettaton frowned, his relaxed posture straightening slightly.  That wasn’t an adoring fan call in the slightest, but before he could think too hard on it, another message began to play.

 

**_“Hey I missed your game show, but I caught your cooking show.  Kind of violent towards that poor little human weren’t ya?  Maybe you should apologize to them.”_ **

 

Clink.  Mettaton pulled himself up in a sitting position.  Now wait just a minute-

 

**_“Hey my kid has trouble reading too.  WHERE DO YOU GET OFF MAKING FUN OF A CHILD WHO HAS A HARD TIME READING YOU OVERGROWN BULLY?!”_ **

 

Clink.  That message seemed felt like a hard slap, but Mettaton shook it off.  So he had one angry fan….so what?  How important was one disgruntle, unimportant fan-

 

**_“Mettaton, you should be ashamed of yourself!  What did that poor human ever do to you?!”_ **

 

Clink.  What was going on-

 

 **_“You big metal jerk._ **   **_I bet you thought you were so big and bad chasing that poor kid around with that chainsaw.  I’d like to see you do it to someone bigger than you.”_ **

 

Clink.  Mettaton began to feel a number of different emotions.  Bewilderment, shock and undeniable anger.  That…...filthy little human was stealing the spotlight and making him look bad?!

 

**_“Why are you attacking someone who doesn’t want to attack you?!”_ **

Clink.

**_“Why’d you say all those mean things to them?!”_ **

Clink.

**_“Go on the air and apologize to them!”_ **

Clink.

**_“You know, if it weren’t for your employee and his friend, that kid might have been seriously hurt.  He should be a TV star.  He’s got more personality than you ever will!”_ **

 

Everything seem to freeze in Mettaton’s mind as that message sank in.  He didn’t hear the next angry call or the call after that or the one after that.  The fury overtook his confusion, bewilderment and shock as a realization hit the robotic celebrity.

 

Burgerpants?!  That lazy, drunk, chain-smoking little worm was the one responsible for bringing the human to the Resort and ruining his plans and tv time!?  Mettaton’s crushed his metal fingers into powerful fists as he thought of that talentless and hopeless cretin interfering with his spotlight.  When he got his hands on his employee he would make that insignificant burger-flipper wish he was never born.

 

Feeling his wires starting to short circuiting from the rage alone, Mettaton got up and began to leave his room and as he did, he began to make a mental checklist of what he needed to do.  He only had two items on his list.

 

  1. Have a very detailed meeting with his darling burger-flipper about company loyalty which will also extend to a complete employee evaluation.  
  2. Change Alphys’ plan to Mettaton’s plan.



 

The robotic superstar felt the lights on his front flicker sinisterly.  He was sure Alphys would understand.  After all, the Underground is a little too small and Mettaton’s talent was too big.  He needed to space out.  The surface was a good place to expand.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't find Chapter 10, so let's see which is next!


	10. Unavailable

Turns out, Chapter 11 is still fine! Coming up soon.


	11. Sleepover

“Thanks again for inviting me to your place to hang out for the night Doc.  And did I thank you for helping me _and_ saving my life?”

 

Frisk smiled as Alphys blushed for the twentieth time.  

 

“Y-yes Frisk.  A-about twenty t-times already.”

 

Frisk wrapped their arm around Alphys’ shoulders as they walked into her bright and welcoming lab again.   The lizard monster’s blush intensified from the physical contact, but she didn’t pull away.  Frisk’s grin widened.

 

There was no denying it:  Frisk was in the best mood they ever been in since the **_accident_ ** on the surface **_and_ ** for the first time since Frisk had fallen down, their determination was gaining something more: hope.  The monsters at the MTT Resort were not only sweet, talkative and curious but they made it a point to let Frisk know they, along with a majority of the monsters throughout the Underground, did not desire their death nor the deaths of any other humans.  

 

And when Nicey told them about the monsters’ idea to send a group of respected and highly regarded representatives to talk to Asgore, demanding a decree of peace be made between the humans and monsters, Frisk felt their heart become lighter.  Alphys looked happy, but extremely scared when Nicey asked her if she could be part of the group.  After a confident reassurance that there would be at least five more monsters present with her when she did visit the king, Alphys quickly agreed.

 

Yep!  Things were looking up.  Frisk would have been completely happy.  Except..except a small little unresolved issue was brewing at the back of their mind like a little black rain cloud.  And it was something that Frisk couldn’t get rid of unless they verbalize what was bothering them.

 

“Say Doc, we made it back here pretty quickly.  And BP and Nicey knew a quicker way to get to the Resort-  


Frisk watch as the lizard’s eyes widened with fear and...guilt.  Frisk’s felt a little of their good mood dissolve as they watched the lizard’s face closely.  She clearly knew what they were gonna ask and she didn’t look comfortable with it.  Frisk felt their eyes narrow a little and they removed their arm from the lizard’s shoulders as Alphys stumbled with an explanation.  

 

“Oh-oh-oh w-w-w-well, I w-was gonna t-tell you about that shortc-cut from the e-elevator to the Resort, but your two n-new f-friends b-beat me t-to it.  An-and the r-reason I d-didn’t tell you a-about the s-shortcut w-we just t-took when you f-first l-left m-my l-lab was because…..um...a lot of monsters were on that p-path and w-would have k-killed you t-tons of t-t-times!  B-but luckily t-that w-won’t be a problem a-anymore!  Th-those monsters really l-like you now!”

 

Oh...that made sense...

 

Frisk’s rising suspicions died just as quickly as they were created and Frisk smiled widely once again as they wrapped their arm around Alphys’ shoulders.  Together they walked past the hole Mettaton made with his big intro and then they passed Alphys’ security tvs that were located on her huge desk.  Frisk inwardly shuddered as they saw those tvs.

 

Despite the fact that Alphys was a great monster and had helped them and kept them them safe, the thought of being spied on was still pretty creepy.  However, as Frisk continued to stare at the largest tv who projected a mirror image of them, Frisk wondered if Asgore had his own cameras and was watching them at this moment.  They wondered what he would do if he knew his royal scientist was helping a human.  

 

Would he kill Alphys?  Probably not, but it could happen if that monster representatives idea of Nicey’s didn’t work.  What if Asgore got angrier?  What if he accused them all of being traitors?  What if he hurt the representatives?

 

The good things Frisk heard about him all came from monsters, but as a human the thought of a genocidal monster plotting the destruction of humanity and who has already killed several human children did not paint him as a great guy.  The only hope Frisk had was that he wasn’t such a brute to his own kind and he would listen to the request of his people.  

 

“My r-room is j-just up the stairs.”

 

Frisk nodded, looking at the white sliding bathroom door that Alphys quickly entered during their first meeting together after she declared them “official friends.”  She had hurried towards the door, claiming she needed to use the bathroom.   It started to slide open as Frisk neared it.

 

_Fancy bathroom door_ **_,_ ** Frisk thought as they moved closer to it.

 

“Cool, I just need to use the restroom-”

 

“NO!”

 

Frisk’s eyes widened with shock as they felt a rough, scaly hand grabbed their wrist in a tight vice-like grip.  In one clumsy, yet surprisingly powerful pull from the lizard monster, Frisk was spun around and nearly lost their footing, but Alphys caught their shoulder at the last moment.

 

Frisk started to pull away desperately, the thought that Alphys’ kindness was nothing more than a setup to get their soul entered their mind.  They started to brace themselves for another brutal death until they got a look at the scientist’s face.  Despite her tight grip, Alphys did not look like a monster ready to attack.  She looked completely panicked and terrified, but her grip tightened when Frisk tried pulling away again all the same.  Frisk was pretty sure Alphys wasn’t even aware she was doing it.  Still...

 

“Doc...you’re hurting my wrist really bad,” they said in a quiet and soothing voice, hoping to break their friend of whatever horrified trance she was in.  

 

To Frisk’s relief, it worked.  The panic and terror disappeared from Alphys’ face, but her eyes widened further as she looked at Frisk’s wrist.  She quickly let go, her mouth trembling and her face unbelievably apologetic.

 

“Oh my God!  Frisk!  I-I’m so s-s-sorry!  I d-d-didn’t mean to h-hurt you!”

 

Frisk offered her a weak smile as they rubbed their sore wrist.  They nodded their head towards the closed sliding door.  

 

“I guess that bathroom’s off-limits huh?”

 

At the mention of the door, the panic resurfaced on Alphys’ face.

 

“Oh!  That’s n-not...umm...that..bathroom’s...um...disgusting...”  She offered a nervous smile to Frisk.

 

“Disgusting?” Frisk repeated raising an eyebrow.

 

Alphys quickly nodded her head.  “Yeah!  D-disgusting!  Ya see...that’s my...um...um...l-lab bathroom.  Lots of disgusting things in th-there...I would be...um...s-so...embarrassed i-if my f-first guest in a l-long t-time saw i-it and thought I w-was...um...disgusting…”

 

If it were **_any other monster other than Alphys_ ** , Frisk would have instantly thought she were trying to hide something…but **_it was Alphys_ ** and the more Frisk talked with Alphys and got to know her, the more they realized their friend had a bad self-esteem problem.  As in she had a very low self-esteem problem.   

 

And it made them sad that their friend lacked so much confidence that she honestly thought that a bathroom would be a deal-breaker in their relationship.  Frisk had half a mind to go in there to prove that nothing would break their friendship with the lizard monster, but they decided against that action. If Alphys **_really really really_ ** didn’t want them to go in there, Frisk wouldn’t go in there.  No problem.

 

“Hey, relax doc.  It’s no big deal.  You know you’re a lot stronger than you look,” Frisk joked and forced themselves to stop rubbing their wrist.  Every time they did that, Alphys’ face seem to get more upset.

 

_Okay bad joke_ , Frisk thought as Alphys started to tear up.  Her eyes seem focused on Frisk’s now swollen wrist .  Grinning again, Frisk shoved their injured hand into their pocket and playfully pushed Alphys passed the sliding door.  Frisk heard it open again, but they didn’t look back.  

 

That didn’t seem to soothe the scientist who kept looking behind them towards the door.  Time for the ultimate distraction, Frisk thought as they tugged on Alphys’ arm.  

 

“Now what’s the deal with this anime you’ve been talking to me about?”

 

That did the trick.  Excitement flooded Alphys’ face and Frisk found themselves being led up the stairs onto the second floor of the lab.   Alphys was chattering away and to Frisk’s delight, they noticed her stuttering was nearly non-existent.  

 

“It’s so good!  It’s um, my favorite show!  I told you this before, but it’s all about this human girl named Mew Mew who has cat ears.  Which humans don’t have...um...you probably already know that though.  S-so she’s all sensitive about them.  But the best part is-”

 

“Hey hey hey!  No spoilers!” Frisk shouted, interrupting the scientist as they stopped at the door right at the stairs.

 

Alphys chuckled nervously.  “Right...we’re gonna watch it.  Can’t give away the good stuff!”

 

Frisk nodded and waited for Alphys to open the door to the bedroom.  They began to frown when Alphys didn’t make a motion to grab the doorknob.  They stood at the door for a few minutes until Alphys took a deep breathe.  

 

“Something wrong?”

 

Alphys shook her head.  “Um...it’s just that...um...you’re...the f-first person to s-see m-my r-room.”

 

Frisk pretended not to see the deep sorrow in her face when she said that.  Instead they simply grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, flinging the door open letting themselves in.  Alphys gave a surprised squeak and and quickly followed them into the modest size room.

 

“Let’s get this sleepover a rolling!”  Frisk declared.

 

********************************************************************************************************

Dr. Alphys stood beside the human and nervously twiddled her thumbs as they surveyed her room silently.

 

_Please let them like it,_ she begged silently.   _Please let them like it.  Please don’t let them call me a loser, and walk out on me.  Please don’t make fun of my huge anime collection._

 

And “huge collection” was an understatement.   Every nook and cranny of Alphys’ modest size room was filled to the brim with human anime!  Alphys felt her heart stop in fear and anticipation as the human started wandering around the room.  

 

Their first stop was the bookshelf and while it was filled to the brim with books, they weren’t exactly science related books.  Every book on those shelves were manga that Alphys found at the dump, and they weren’t even in good condition.  All the manga graphic novels she owned were worn down, tore up, or water-damaged.  And to make her obsession with anime complete, every single spare edge of each shelf was lined with small plastic anime characters.  

 

The silence and the human’s non-emotional face as they intensely looked at her books was maddening.  She coughed before she broke the silence.

 

“So F-Frisk, what do you-”

 

The human raced from the bookshelf to the closet and flung open the doors, silencing the lizard monster once again.  This time Alphys blushed.  While there weren’t any anime related items in the closet, all her clothes, save for a dress, were all lab coats.  

 

_Oh God,_ Alphys thought.   _They probably think I’m a big loser who works all the time because she have no friends._

 

The human actually frowned at the clothing, further confirming Alphys’ fears before they headed to Alphys' desk.  Like the desk in her lab, Alphys’ bedroom desk had a computer, and was messy with papers scattered everywhere with anime figures decorating the piece of furniture, but unlike the lab’s desk, the papers had nothing to do with her work.  

 

Alphys gasped as she suddenly realized something:  the script!  Her and Mettaton’s script was on the desk and the human was actually looking through the messy papers and-

 

“What’s this?”

 

Alphys nearly had a heart attack as the human held up a piece of paper.  The panic that bloomed throughout her body and even managed to touch her soul nearly made her faint on the spot.  There was no way she could talk her way out of this.  The other issues the human brought up were easy enough to deal with, but the script...  Alphys stammered and blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

 

“I’m s-sorry!”

 

The human’s face twisted in confusion as they looked at the paper again before they moved it closer to Alphys’ face.

 

“Did you draw this?”

 

The flood of relief that washed over her body was so intense that Alphys couldn’t answer for a few seconds.  In fact, she was practically hyperventilating when she did finally looked at paper the human was holding out. Her relief turned into pure embarrassment.   

 

In her spare time, Alphys had tried drawing a few anime pictures of her own and each one was a colossal failure.  Unfortunately, the human had selected her worst creation.  She had tried to draw an anime version of herself wearing armor similar to Undyne’s, she was holding a battle ax with huge decorative eyes on her face.  It was a terrible picture.  She quickly reached for it, but the human pulled it back before she could snatch it.  

 

“D-d-don’t look at that!  It’s a-awful!”

 

The human’s  smile grew and became more mischievous as they looked at it again, then at Alphys.  They quickly shoved it in their shirt.  

 

“I’m keeping this,” they declared with a firm voice.

 

Alphys’ felt a violent blush cover her face.

 

“No!  G-give that back!  It’s embarrassing!”

 

The human shook their head.

 

“It’s cute, it’s adorable and it’s mine now.”

 

“F-Frisk-”

 

The human shook their head and walked over to the bed,  throwing themselves on it and messing up the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie blankets.  They looked at Alphys and grinned.  

 

“Don’t worry.  I’ll draw a picture for you so we can be even.  But I really want to keep this one. Your anime-self isn’t nearly as cute as you are, but it comes close to it,” they purred, causing Alphys to blush even harder if that were possible.

 

Nobody, not even Undyne had ever called her “cute.”  

 

_Well_ , Alphys thought as she sat down on the edge of the bed, _if they really want that picture so bad, I guess it’ll be okay for them to have it...did they really mean it when they said I was cute?  Did they mean “cute” as in kitten cute or did they mean it like when somebody calls their crush cute?  Or did they mean it-_

“Come on.  Put it on already so I can watch it and then explain why  _Tokyo Mew Mew_ is better” they said impatiently, pointing to the tv from across the bed.

 

Alphys snorted and reached over to turn the tv on.  Instantly the intro screen of _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ greeted them.  Its catchy theme song blared, but the human didn’t seem too bothered by the loud music, so Alphys didn’t turn it down.  

 

“After this first episode, I’m f-fairly certain you’re g-gonna eat those w-words _human_ ,” she said in a fake arrogant tone and a confident look on her face.  

 

Frisk mimicked that look easily.  “Yeah, we’ll see about that _monster_ **_._ ** ”

 

**************************************************************************************************

 

“Maybe we should call it a night doc,” Frisk mumbled almost incoherently as their strained eyes hollowly stared at the screen.  The episode had ended, the credits were rolling and the happy ending song was nearing it’s final chorus.

 

“Y-yeah...we can finish the s-series tomorrow…”Alphys muttered, clearly just as exhausted.

 

Laying underneath the covers on top of Alphys’ bed, Frisk didn’t know what time it was, but they knew it must have been extremely late.  Both they and Alphys  watched twelve episodes of Alphys’ favorite anime without stopping...okay that wasn’t true.  They stopped it briefly after episode two to grab some snacks and drinks from the downstairs.  

 

Then they spent about half an hour discussing the plot, the characters and love interests before they watched three more episode.  After that, they took a bathroom break (the upstairs’ bathroom), grabbed some more snacks, talked about the episodes again, changed into pajamas (Frisk was now wearing one of Alphys’ oversized workshirts) and watched more.  It fell into a pattern:  they’d watch a few episodes, talk about them, get more snacks and then use the restroom.

 

Then there were the phone-calls that constantly interrupted their tv time.  Frisk ignored the many calls they received, only checking the caller ID just in case it was Toriel, but they couldn’t help but notice Alphys’ upset look every time they ignored Undyne’s or Papyrus’ calls, but luckily she didn’t say anything.  

 

Alphys had a few phone calls herself, but like Frisk she ignored them, telling Frisk she usually did that when she watched anime so it wasn’t a big deal if she checked them later.  

 

“Aren’t you gonna take the tv off?” Frisk asked sleepily.  Without thinking they laid their head on Alphys’ shoulder.  

 

Oddly enough the lizard monster didn’t make any sounds of surprise, nor did she try to pull away, and Frisk didn’t feel that nervous twitching of hers. In fact, the lizard snuggled closer to them and patted their head just like their daddy use to do-

 

“It’ll turn off on it’s own,” came the exhausted voice of the lizard monster.  

 

Frisk nodded and closed their eyes.  They sighed happily, feeling the welcoming arms of sleep warmly embracing them.  It was so good to finally have a good night sleep.  On the surface, Frisk had trouble falling asleep ever since their mom and dad-

 

“Say Frisk, w-w-what do you think about Mew Mew?”

 

Alphys’ voice pulled them back into reality.  Frisk shook some of the sleepiness away and looked up at Alphys.

 

“S-she’s the only character y-you a-and I h-haven’t discussed.”

 

That was true and honestly Frisk went out of their way to avoid discussing that character, mostly because they didn’t like her and they knew Alphys adored her, but it looked like Alphys wasn’t going to go to sleep until they discussed it.   _Well, here it goes_ , Frisk thought.

 

“She’s stupid.”

 

“What?!”

 

Frisk was jerked to the side as Alphys got into a sitting position, clearly wide awake now.  Grumbling to themselves, Frisk pulled themselves into a sitting position as well and braced themselves for what was most likely going to be an hour long argument like the one they had earlier about who would be a better match for one of the shyer male characters.  

 

“How is she stupid?!  She’s t-top in h-her c-class, and h-helps people b-by solving their p-problems.”

 

Frisk shook their head and had to hid their smirk.  Alphys’ enraged face was pretty funny.  

 

“She lies to people constantly, especially her friends.  In fact, all her friendships are based in lies thanks to that mind-controlling power of hers.”

 

Frisk couldn’t help but notice and became greatly alarmed when Alphys’ yellow skin paled to an almost deadly white, but after a few seconds the royal scientist recovered, but her stuttering was nearly uncontrollable as she spoke.

 

“W-w-w-well, s-s-s-she th-thinks n-n-nobody w-w-w-will li-like her.  That’s why s-she does t-that at f-first.”

Frisk rolled their eyes.  “Mew Mew never tries being herself. She’s always lies, she never gives herself a chance and to make matters worse she never gives her friends a chance to like her for who she is.  Which is sad because I know she’s a good person.”

 

Frisk watched as Alphys blinked and looked away.  “What if...s-s-she t-tells everybody the t-t-truth and t-they all h-h-hate her?”

 

“That’s easy.  Then she has to prove herself to those people.  She has to show them she’s a good person who made a few mistakes.”  Frisk yawned and smiled warmly at Alphys.

 

“You really take this anime pretty seriously huh?”

 

The lizard monster almost seemed startled by the question.

 

“Oh y-yeah...the an-anime...um...it’s g-getting late...um...let’s hit t-the hay!”

 

Frisk nodded, too exhausted to hear how fake Alphys’ cheerful voice sounded and laid back down, Alphys copying their movements.  

 

After a few seconds, Frisk was fast asleep.  

 

******************************************************************************************************

Alphys waited until she was sure the human was deep in their sleep before she got up as quietly and as softly as she could so she wouldn’t wake her guest up.

 

Before she left her room, she took the script and cellphone from her desk and turned off the tv.  Quietly closing the door behind her, Alphys crept down the stairs and entered her real lab.  

 

After feeding all of her patients and checking on Mrs. Snowdrake, who still hadn’t eaten (this would have been the eighth day and now Alphys was really starting to get desperate), the royal scientist sat down at her third desk and slammed the script down a bit violently.  She placed her elbows on the desk’s surface and covered her face with her hands.

 

The night has started off so great, and now...she really couldn’t get angry at Frisk, because whenever was said and done, the human made a legitimate point against Alphys even if they were completely unaware they did.  Lies shouldn’t be the cornerstone for friendships, and yet the few relationships Alphys had been based in lies.

 

Undyne liked her because Alphys led her to believe she was some kind of expert on humans and their traditions.  Of course in reality Alphys knew very little about the actual human world, and everything she told Undyne just came from the realm of the fantasies that humans often put in their literature and manga.   **_BUT that lie was all for everybody’s own good!_ ** Alphys tried to make humans seem like honorable creatures and for a while the captain of the Royal Guards seem to have a sort of admiration for humans...until she started to spend more time with Asgore.  

 

And then there was Asgore, who did respect her, but only because of her lie about having to create a SOUL.   **_BUT that lie was for the everybody’s own good too!_ ** If she led Asgore to believe she created a SOUL, then there wouldn’t be any need to kill any more fallen humans.  And because of that lie, she was able to save the fallen monsters, who were brought to her, thanks to her limitless access to the previous human souls Asgore collected.  The determination she extracted from them saved the lives of those monsters.

 

As for those monsters’ families, well...yeah she did lied to them about the progress of their family members, but **_that was for their own good too._ **  If she told them about the fusion accidents they would all freak out and start getting upset and that was completely unnecessary since Alphys was going to fix it all.  She just needed more time and lying was just a necessary evil to achieve it.  And as for Mr. Snowdrake she didn't really lie to him...at first.  When she first told him his wife died,  Alphys was sure the fragile snow monster wasn't going to make it...but just imagine how Mr. Snowdrake and his son will react when they realize Mrs. Snowdrake didn't really die!  Their joy  will be amazing!

 

And as for Frisk, everything she had done up to this point was to ensure the human did not reach Asgore so they wouldn’t eventually be killed by him as well.  Yeah lying was bad, but not when it was saving a life.   **_That was for their own good…._ ** and if Alphys looked like a hero to the human because of it...well that was just a bonus.  And if she could convince them to make up with Undyne and Papyrus, that would be a great thing as well...there is no need for anymore hatred in the Underground.  

 

Perking up considerably and smiling just a little, Alphys finally look at her cellphone to see who had called her.   She had two missed calls.  She listened to the first message.

 

**_“Hey Doctor, this is Nicey!  I guess you can’t come to the phone right now.  Hopefully it’s because you and Frisk are having too much fun to answer.  That poor kid needs as much happiness as they can get after everything they’ve been through.  Anyway, I wanted to let you know that after a long discussion and a few mini-elections, I’m happy to say the monsters have chosen five representatives for the Humans.  Our first meeting is gonna be tomorrow at 9:00 AM at MTT Restaurant.  See ya!”_ **

 

**_Clink._ **

 

Alphys couldn’t help the bubbling excitement that was growing in her chest.  She had never been part of a team before and now she was going to be part of the greatest team in Monster history!  This team was gonna change monsterkind forever and Alphys was going one of the few people to be named in human and monster history books as one of the few monsters responsible for bringing peace among the two races.

 

She listened to the other message.

 

**_Howdy Doctor Alphys.  I hope I’m not bothering you, but when I tried to leave today to visit the residents of Snowdin, I couldn’t help but notice my elevator was not working.  I would greatly appreciate it if you could fix it soon, but if you are too busy at the moment, I completely understand.  Also please call me.  I haven’t heard from you in a while.  I hope it’s not because you’re overworking yourself again.  You should really get out.  The flowers are in bloom.”_ **

 

**_Clink._ **

 

_Sorry your majesty,_ Alphys thought as she got up and started to head back upstairs to get some rest.   _I can’t fix it just yet.  Not until we come up with what we’re going to say to you about the humans._ **_It’s for your own good._ **

 

*************************************************************************************************

“How’d you sleep Frisk?”  

 

Frisk rubbed their eyes sleepily and looked up at the blue bunny and noticed the array of different monsters standing behind him.  They recognized all of them.  There was Dogaressa and Dogamy, Gerson who was in a wheelchair, and Mr. Snowdrake whose hands rested on Gerson's wheelchair handles.    

 

When Alphys woke them up earlier claiming the first Representatives’ meeting was happening today, Frisk felt their soul thump happily.  They were wondering who was going to represent and defend the humans and this team...well it was the best team Frisk could ask for.    

 

Frisk offered Nicey a tired smile before yawning a little too loudly.  

 

“Good...for the small amount I did sleep.”

 

Gerson did that strange hacking laugh of his.  “Didn’t get a full night of sleep huh?  Yep, I remember doing the same thing when I was your age, young’un.  Like this one time-”

 

Dogamy have a small whine interrupting the old turtle and earning a mean look and a low growl from his wife.  The male dog continued anyway.  

 

“No disrespect Mr. Gerson but we really need to get this meeting underway...where’s Dr. Alphys, puppy?”

 

Frisk pointed upstairs.  “Still getting ready.  So what’s the plan?”

 

Nicey raised and eyebrow.  “Plan?”

 

Frisk nodded.  “Yeah...what are we going to discuss?”

 

Dogaressa snorted and took on a dominant stance against the much smaller Frisk.  “You are not going to be part of this group Puppy.”

 

Frisk’s felt their eyes widened and the anger start to bloom in their chest as they looked up at the female dog.  The anger wouldn’t have come so quickly if Dogaressa’s tone hadn’t been so condescending.  Was she not letting Frisk join because they were human and she thought a human wouldn’t be able to help with the king?  Or was it because she thought Frisk was too young?  Either answer was completely unacceptable.

 

Frisk puffed up their chest earning amused chuckles from Mr. S and Gerson.  Nicey looked a bit concerned.

 

“Why not?  This group is basically about me and-”

 

Dogaressa growled, silencing Frisk.

 

“Wrong puppy.  This group is about trying to fix a mistake we made years and years ago.  You did not help make that mistake, therefore you are not required to fix it.  Don’t worry, we got this.  Plus,” now Dogaressa allowed a smile to grace her lips, “your boyfriend woke up early just to see you.”

 

“Boyfriend?” Frisk asked.

 

Mr. S nodded.  “Little chap with no arms.  He seemed pretty excited about seeing you.  It's funny.”

 

MK!  Wait a minute...boyfriend?!  Is that what’s he calling himself?  Boyfriend..?   Frisk felt themselves blush.  Well, he was pretty cute...no...they needed to stay and try to help…

 

“Don’t worry about it Frisk,” Nicey said, reading their mind.  “Before we do anything, we’ll let you know our plans.  We just don’t think...look...you’ve done more for us than you think.  Let us have this one.  It’s the least we can do for you humans.”

 

“The **_very_ ** least we can do,” Dogaressa muttered before pointing to the door.  “Go on puppy.  Don’t keep him waiting.”

 

Frisk paused only a second, taking in each monster’s face before they started to leave for the exit.  As they passed Gerson, the old turtle grabbed their arm gently.

 

“Look youngster, I reckon I should tell ya sump’n.  Someone is runnin’ my shop fer me right now.  She just quit her job in da Royal Guard and needed a new one.”

 

That’s was all the old turtle said.  It took only a minute for Frisk to understand what he was saying.

 

**_Undyne…_ **

 

A powerful surge of sorrow and guilt entered Frisk’s body, but they quickly smothered it out before it reached their soul.  Frisk was afraid if those emotions reached their soul, they might trick themselves into actually forgiving Undyne and Papyrus for what they had done.  Neither one deserved forgiveness.  Both of them were murderers in one way or another and it didn’t matter if they felt sorry for what they did or if they wish they could take it back.  Both monsters did what they did on their own free will without any regrets or hesitation.    

 

Plus if Frisk forgave them, they were basically telling the humans who were killed that their deaths meant nothing to them.  So no...those emotions would never get that strong... **_never…_ **

 

“Don’t keep yer friend awaitin’ too long,” Gerson muttered, breaking Frisk away from their thoughts.

 

Frisk nodded, smiling at the old turtle who gave a sad smile of his own to them.

 

*************************************************************************************************

 

“I just don’t understand why Frisk and I need a babysitter.  You know they already traveled nearly everywhere Underground alone already right?”

 

BP angrily bit the end of his cigarette and forced himself not to hit the armless little shit that hadn’t shut the fuck up since Frisk joined them outside.  

 

Since Nicey was now a Representative, the job of selling the nice cream and paying for their shitty hotel room fell on BP, and to be honest the cat monster didn’t feel all that qualified to be the smiling ice cream vendor Nicey’s business promised.  It was already hard enough to smile at complete strangers who he automatically hated, but it became even more difficult when the two children who were being forced to follow him wouldn’t stop complaining.

 

And to make it even worse, the Riverperson wouldn’t let them on their boat.  They claimed the combined weight of all four of them plus the cart wouldn’t hold.  So BP had been pushing the cart over steep water trenches and tall grasses.  They were nearly at the small town located in Waterfall, but Nicey always began his route in Snowdin so BP felt obliged to start there too.  

 

“Yeah!  MK’s gotta point BP.  Not only was I traveling alone, I was also being attacked every step of the way.  I think we can hang out without an adult,” Frisk said, wrapping an arm around MK’s shoulders.

 

BP stopped pushing the small ice cream cart, gripping the handle so tightly his knuckles were turning white.  It was waaay too early to deal with this.  WAY. TOO. EARLY.  And he was WAY. TOO. HUNGOVER...again.  

 

“Come ooon,” Frisk whined.  “Why can’t we just go by ourselves?  You said nobody wanted to hurt me anymore-”

 

The small barrier that was holding BP’s anger in snapped and he turned around to glare at the two kids.

 

“First off, I said **_nearly_ ** everybody doesn’t want to hurt you.  In case you forgotten, there’s an idiot fuck robot out there who still would be okay with killing you.   Secondly I don’t know what type of relationship you two little shits have and I’m not taking any chances, so you two are gonna stay with me while I try to sell this shitty ice cream-”

 

“Excuse sir,” a clam-headed monster said coming up to them.  “How much is your chocolate-”

 

BP bared his teeth at him, causing the poor customer to back away.  “Fuck off, can’t you see I’m trying to be a responsible adult here?”

 

“Rude,” BP grumbled as he watched the monster run away.  “Now where was I?  Oh yeah, you two need to stick with me so I can sell this crap.  Nicey’s counting on me now.  Can’t disappoint him.”

 

MK huffed in annoyance and disappointment, while Frisk looked down.  After a few seconds they looked up again.

 

“Can we at least visit Waterfall first?”

 

BP raised his eyebrow.  “Why?”

 

Frisk smiled charmingly and fluttered their eyelashes adorably.  “Bratty and Catty gave me something, and I think it belongs somewhere in Waterfall.  Please can we go there first?  Pleeease?”

 

BP sighed, feeling himself melt at Frisk’s cute face.  “Fine.  We’re almost there anyway.”

 

He turned around, and began pushing the cart with a bit more vigor.  MK and Frisk followed, but slowly and began to get further and further behind the cat monster.  The smell of water and mud began to fill their nostrils and every so often BP would look behind his shoulder to make sure both kids were still following him.

 

“So what do you have to do in Waterfall?” MK asked.

 

“Bratty and Catty gave me a key and I think it belongs to the house that’s connected to Napstablook’s home. It was locked when I tried to open it the first time.  I’m curious to see if I can unlock that door.”

 

MK frowned.  “So if the key does work you're going to go inside and explore the house?”

 

Frisk nodded cheerfully.  “Yep.”

 

The small child monster titled his head.  “Are you allowed to do that?  I mean legally?”

 

Frisk shrugged.  “I’ve done it before many times.  Nobody has stopped me yet.”

 

MK’s frown of confusion slowly morphed into a smile of complete admiration.

 

“You’re so cool Frisk.”

 

MK began to wrap his tail around Frisk’s shoulder-

 

“HEY HEY HEY!  NO FUCKING TOUCHING EACH OTHER!”

 

Both kids jumped as BP’s booming voice exploded in their ears.  The blushes on both faces matched each other perfectly.

 

“AND HURRY UP ALREADY!”

 

********************************************************************************************************

Despite the early morning, and Napstablook’s farm being closed still, with the shy ghost nowhere in sight, many of the Waterfall residents were already awake and walking around, clearly enjoying the pretty day, when they saw BP and his ice cream cart.  BP only had a second to put on a friendly face before he was swapped with customers left and right.

 

With him being completely distracted, it wasn’t hard for MK and Frisk to sneak off without being noticed.  

 

They stood in front of the pink house that was connected to Napstablook’s blue house.  Frisk pulled out the key from their pocket and pushed it into the lock.  They twisted it and both kids heard the clink, unlocking the door.  

 

The key disappeared like magic.

 

Frisk looked at MK and smiled.  “Let’s to this!”  In one smooth motion, Frisk opened the door. 


	12. Diaries

The only thing Alphys’ new team did was order breakfast in the overpriced, but undeniably sleek MTT restaurant, but Alphys’ stress and anxiety levels were off the charts.

 

When she went down the stairs, eager and excited to meet her new team, she didn’t know exactly who the members would be. Of course Nicey would be a member, which was just fine with her. He was gentle, merciful and kind, but also had the assertive quality to him that made him the perfect team leader. Gerson was also a fantastic choice. Nearly all monsters in the Underground respected him and he was the head of the royal guard when he was younger, which meant one point he had a close relationship with the king.

 

But the others...Dogamy, Dogaressa, and Mr. S...God why them? Granted there were a lot more monsters that Alphys was avoiding, but these three were the ones that Alphys went completely out of her way to avoid. 

 

Out of all her patients’ family members who were trying to contact her, Dogamy was the most persistent. He called her night and day, sent her letter after letter, texted her non-stop and stopped by her lab nearly every other day, asking her through the door how his father was doing and if he could visit him. It didn’t matter that she never answered him. He never stopped talking through the door or sending letters. 

 

He was getting bad lately. There were times she watched him through her security cameras waiting outside the lab for hours on end in the hopes she would come out. His wife, whose mother and sister were also patients of Alphys, would usually drag him back to Snowdin, snapping at him to stop bothering the royal scientist. During the times Dogerassa didn’t show up to bring him home, Alphys would usually end up calling Undyne who would come to deal with the male dog.

 

It wasn’t like she didn’t want to tell him his father was okay...more or less. It’s just that if she showed him that his father, Dogerassa’s mother and sister, and Greater’s brother were all....like they were now, it would horrify and destroy the proud dog pack. And why do that when she was going to fix everything? If they could just give her a little more time…

 

“You okay doctor?”

 

Nicey’s voice snapped Alphys back into reality and she looked up from her overpriced breakfast to notice that all five monsters were staring at her. Gerson titled his head at her.

 

“Yer shakin’ like a leaf, young lady. You feelin’ alright?” His kind and concerned voice only made Alphys feel sicker.

 

Her hands were shaking really bad. What was she going to do? She needed to get out of here. Run to the lab or in her bedroom. Frisk would understand. They understood her. It didn’t matter if the team didn’t understand...in fact, they were probably better off without her. Yeah...she’d only ruin their team when they did finally stand before King Asgore and state their case. 

 

She looked towards the exit. Beside it, was the girls’ bathroom. 

 

“I-I-I’m f-f-f-fine. I j-j-just n-n-need to...um….um...use the bathroom!”

 

She stood up, only to have Dogaressa stand up too.

 

“I have to go too.”

 

Nononononononono, Alphys thought in a blind panic as she and the much bigger female walked into the bathroom. The lizard monster’s breathe spiked up as the dog monster stared down at her, her powerful paws on her hips.

 

“I don’t have to go to the bathroom and neither do you.”

 

It wasn’t a question, and Alphys found herself nodding in agreement, despite the overwhelming urge to vomit. The fear, the stress and the anxiety were turning her stomach. 

 

The female dog kept her dominant stance for just a few more seconds before she sighed, almost sounding defeated, her body relaxing. Alphys didn’t feel any better.

 

“My husband is making you uneasy isn’t he?”

 

The question was so unexpected that Alphys didn’t answer. She stared stupidly at the female dog. Dogerassa whined, a mixture of annoyance and guilt on her face.

 

“You don’t have to answer doctor. I can tell that’s why you haven’t looked at us once. Look, I get it. My mom and sister, his father, Greater’s brother, they came to you practically dead. Recovery can take a long time and I keep telling Dogamy that, but you know...he was- is - close to his father so you can’t blame him too much for wanting to know how his father is doing.”

 

Alphys felt the guilt boiling inside her, but she still didn’t answer. After a few seconds, Dogaressa continued. 

 

“Just this morning when we all met up, Dogamy was talking about confronting you about everything.”

 

Alphys’ breathing got a little heavier. She felt her skin pale. 

 

“But then Mr. S told him that he should be grateful that his father was still alive and my hubby backed down. I guess you can’t argue with a guy who lost his wife. My hubby will give you as much time as you need. He won’t bother you anymore.”

 

Alphys felt the relief wash over her in waves, but the guilt was still there and Frisk and her conversation kept playing over in her head. And a tiny voice that sounded very much like Frisk started to chant a single word in her head:

 

confess. confess. confess. confess. confess.

 

The strong female dog smiled down at her and Alphys felt the guilt start to enter bits of her soul. Dogeressa’s smile was desperate and miserable.

 

“You don’t have to give me any details, but please just tell me know my family is okay.”

 

Confess. Confess. Confess. Confess. Confess.

This is it, Alphys thought, the fear and guilt nearly consuming her. This is my chance to tell the truth. Give all the families the peace they deserve. And then I can make it up to them if the truth wasn’t good enough. 

 

CONFESS. CONFESS. CONFESS. CONFESS. CONFESS.

 

The lizard scientist took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

 

“Th-they’re f-f-fine, b-but-.”

 

The scientist trailed off, taking a deep breathe. The voice inside of her head that sounded so much like Frisk started to scream their chant.

 

CONFESS! CONFESS! CONFESS! CONFESS! CONFESS!

 

“B-b-but-”

 

Alphys saw Dogaressa’s smile fade. 

 

CONFESS! CONFESS! CONFESS!

 

No, Alphys thought angrily and the voice became silent. She didn’t have anything to confess when everything was going to be fixed eventually! She steadied her breathing and looked up at the female dog, who was hanging onto her every word.

 

“They’re fine,” she said without stuttering once. “Recovery is just taking a long time and I think the families will be hurt if they see them in the condition they are currently in.”

 

Dogaressa nodded her head, the happiness in her eyes shining in the form of tears of joy. Alphys felt a deep satisfaction in seeing the absolute bliss in the other monster’s eyes. It confirmed that she had made the right decision.

 

“Thank you doctor. That’s all we really wanted to hear!”

 

Turning to the mirror, Dogaressa wiped the tears from her face. After a few seconds she turned back to the scientist.

 

“Come on. Let’s get this meeting started.”

 

Alphys smirked and nodded her head.

 

*******************************************************************************************************

 

“It’s pink,” MK declared after the two children closed the door behind them and surveyed the room.

 

Frisk nodded their head in agreement. “It’s very pink.”

 

The way the room was setup kind of reminded Frisk of a tv show they used to watch. The show was about a teenage girl who spent most of her time in her very pink room telling the viewers about her day. Was the owner of this room a teenage monster girl? 

 

Frisk looked around again, this time taking a closer look at how it was decorated. 

 

The wallpaper was a bright pink with a star pattern on them, but aside from that, the walls themselves were kind of bare, the only thing decorating them was a huge pink poster of two humans dancing together. The tv in the corner was pink. The rug on the floor was a darker pink with a star in the middle on it. The bed was pink with a pink bedspread over it. 

 

There was no masculine touch to this room, but that didn’t necessarily mean the owner was female. After all, Frisk’s dad loved to knit and that was a hobby more dominated by females. And then there was Frisk themselves who liked male and female acitivties. 

 

After taking in as much of the room as their eyes could see, Frisk looked down and their excitement spiked. Five red books were placed in a strange wave-like pattern on the floor. The books Frisk found in the underground always helped them understand just a little bit of monster culture, even if it took them forever to read through the books

 

Smiling, Frisk started to make their way towards the first book in the odd pattern, stopping only when they felt MK wrapped his tail around their wrist. He looked nervous and kept looking around the room in a panicked fashion.

 

“Come on Frisk, we had our look so let’s go. I don’t feel comfortable breaking and entering in somebody’s house.”

 

Frisk grinned mischievously. “Breaking and entering? Come on MK, we used a key for crying out loud. How can we get in trouble if we were given the key?”

 

MK paused thoughtfully and as he did Frisk’s mischievous smile turned slightly evil.

 

“Well I guess that’s true, but let’s beat it soon just in case the royal guard doesn’t see it that way.”

 

Frisk rolled their eyes, taking hold of MK’s tail and dragging him towards the first book. 

 

“You’ll never make it as my partner in crime MK. I just want to see what’s in these books and then we’ll leave. No big deal.”

 

That seem to calm MK down. Frisk smirked as they saw their friend’s nervousness disappear and changed into excitement. 

 

First time breaking the rules, Frisk thought as they sat down on the ground together. Frisk reached for the book and placed it on their lap, opening it to the first page. And suddenly all their confidence and smugness vanished as they stared at the words. They began to feel that old familiar feeling of humiliation creeping inside of them. 

 

The words seem to jumble together. If they were alone, it wouldn’t be so bad. They could take their time and sound-out every word, but with MK here...they opened their mouth and tried to figure out the first word-

 

“Say Frisk. Since you’re holding the book, I’ll read. Just cause it was your idea to come here doesn’t mean you can do all the fun stuff.”

 

Frisk raised an eyebrow as MK leaned closer to them until they were shoulder to shoulder with one another. Frisk didn’t say it, but they knew why he offered to read. They knew he had watched Mettaton’s game show on tv. Everybody watched it. 

 

And the fact he was offering to read because he knew Frisk couldn’t read very well should have made Frisk feel stupid. They always felt stupid whenever they were in school and had to read outloud to the class. After a few agonizing moments of stuttering and mispronouncing words, the teacher would choose somebody else to finish the passage. It wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world. 

 

But the way MK offered, Frisk felt their soul glow with a warmness as they leaned their head on his nearly non-existent shoulder. MK let out a small squeal of surprise before he composed himself. 

 

“This looks like a diary entry Frisk,” his smile became a little more naughty. “Do you think it’s wrong to read somebody’s diary?”

 

Frisk’s grin got more cat-like. “If they really didn’t want somebody to read it, they would have hidden it.”

 

That’s all MK needed to begin.

 

“Dear Diary,

Shyren’s sister “fell down” recently- ”

 

Frisk instantly stopped listening to whatever MK was saying as soon as the name Shyren’s left his mouth. The image of the water monster flashed through their mind and as it did, Frisk felt their teeth clamp down on their bottom lip, while their fingers dug into their knees. 

 

The dislike...no...the hatred that filled Frisk so intensely and so quickly they barely noticed the look of concern on MK’s face. 

 

Frisk had many deaths from only a few monsters. There was Undyne, Guards 01 and Guard 02, but in some way Frisk understood why they were killed by them. They were loyal to King Asgore and were trained to kill on sight, but Shyren…

 

Frisk wouldn’t even have approached her if they hadn’t thought she was in some kind of pain. She had her back turned to them and her shoulders were shaking as if she had been crying. And all Frisk did was slowly come up to her and ask if she was okay. The next thing Frisk felt was pain. Her stupid magic in the form of music notes torn through Frisk’s body so quickly that they didn’t even know why they were feeling so much pain. Then the blood came. And that terrible blackness. And when they came back, Shyren attacked again even though she knew they weren’t a danger.

 

The monster stopped once Frisk started to sing, which in turned got her singing, and once the horrible monster seem to calm down, Frisk had bailed. It was easy to ignore that murderous monster’s cries of despair and loneliness as they were running away, and even though Frisk wanted to go back and comfort her, they continued forward. If she wanted a friend or someone to keep her company, she would have stopped attacking. Frisk might have forgiven her for killing her that first time, but she didn’t stop attacking after Frisk resetted for the second time. Horrible monster...

 

“What’s wrong Frisk?”

 

Frisk blinked and turned towards their friend, forcing a giant smile on their face. They felt...icky and not too great...those dark thoughts were not the highlight of their day, but they couldn’t help how they felt. Bad people, monsters or humans didn’t deserve Frisk’s time or kindness or friendship...or forgiveness. 

 

“Oh...it’s nothing buddy...just you know, I had a run in with Shyren and I was just thinking about it.”

 

MK’s concerned frown deepened and Frisk wondered if he knew they were lying. It wouldn’t take much for him to figure out the truth about their encounter with Shyren or with Captain Undyne. Maybe he already knew about it, but he didn’t mention it. Instead he smiled back at Frisk.

 

“You know, Shyren had a sister who got injured really badly.”

 

Frisk shook their head, knowing where this was going. It was an excuse a lot of humans used when they are trying to defend someone who's done something bad. Frisk heard it so many times:

 

They lost someone and are just lashing out because they are sad.

 

And the depressing thing was that at one point Frisk actually thought that was a legitimate reason for a person to do something bad. Even when they were younger, Frisk didn’t agree with violence, but they understood why a person would reduce themselves to hurting another person. They thought that being unbearably sad made people unable to control their actions.

 

But then the accident happen and no matter how angry or sad Frisk got or how badly they wanted to hit another child that was mocking them or how satisfying it would have been to attack Undyne back or rip Papyrus apart or annihilate Shyren or stomp 01 and 02 into the ground, Frisk always let their hands fall to their sides, because in the end they refused to let themselves give in to the very thing that took their parents-

 

“Is that right?” Frisk asked, forcing themselves to keep their voice soft and gentle. 

 

MK nodded. “Yeah, ya see she can’t really talk, just sort of hums in little musical notes, but she always had her sister speak for her. Because of that she was pretty shy to begin with, but then her sister was sent away to be healed and now she doesn’t really interact with others anymore. She must be so lonely.”

 

She must of attack me because she was terrified of me.

 

The thought subconsciously entered Frisk’s head, but before they could allow it to truly enter their heart and soul, they threw it out. Screw Shyren! Being scared didn’t give her a reason to attack or kill! Frisk dug their hands even more brutally into their knees. They had been terrified of the monsters who wanted to steal their soul or hurt them just to hurt them, but they never attacked. 

 

No , Frisk thought viciously as they smiled warmly at MK. That monster could stay lonely forever for all I care . And as they thought that, they tried to ignore how disgusted their soul felt with their brain.

 

“Man the writer of this diary seems like a good monster.”

 

Frisk frowned. What was MK talking about? 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

MK gave them a look of disbelief. “Ya know, coming to comfort her and offering to spend time with her. That was pretty thoughtful of them.”

 

That must have been what the rest of the entry said, Frisk thought as they nodded absently and turned the page. The next page was blank. They turned the page again. The third page was blank. So was the fourth page. And the fifth. And the sixth. Finally, Frisk flipped to the last page of the book. That was blank too.

 

They looked at MK and shrugged. “Guess they got bored with it.”

 

MK nodded to the four remaining books on the ground. “Maybe there’s something in those books. They all look the same. Maybe this person continued their entries in another book.”

 

Frisk scoffed playfully, getting up to retrieve the closest book to them. “Who would start one diary only to get a new diary and start again?”

 

They heard MK huff as they picked up the book and then sat back down beside MK. 

 

“You never know. Everybody’s different.”

 

Frisk shot him a smug grin. “Yeah well as true as that is, I highly doubt that’s the case.”

 

They opened the book and to their surprise there was only one sentence in this diary entry. MK quickly read it.

 

“Dearer Diary,

I’d like to buy a new diary for every entry I make. I love to collect diaries.” 

 

Frisk felt their smug smile vanish as they stared in disbelief at the entry.

 

“You’ve have got to be kidding-”

 

“Don’t feel bad Frisk. You just don’t understand the genius of monsters!”

 

Grumbling, Frisk turned all the pages of the second book to make sure there were no other entries made. Like the first book, aside from the first page, every other page was completely blank.

 

Instead of staring at MK’s gleeful smile, Frisk threw the book to the side and reached for the third book. After a thoughtful pause they retrieved the remaining books as well. They opened the third book to the first page.

 

MK read it:

 

“Dearest Diary,

Our cousin left the farm to become a training dummy. That leaves just Blooky and I. Blooky asked me if I was going to try and become corporeal, too. They sounded so…..resigned…..Come on Blooky, you know I’d never leave you behind. And besides…….I’d never find the body I’m looking for, anyway. “

 

Frisk wrinkled their nose in confusion. 

 

“Corporeal? What does that mean?”

 

“I don’t know-”

 

“It means becoming solid...getting a body...at least that’s what it means to ghosts...sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt or bother you...I just heard someone in here and thought it might have been...sorry, I’ll leave…”

 

MK hastily got up, the distress and panic on his face as clear as day, thinking about how much trouble he was gonna be in. He started moving towards the door, thinking how he was gonna word his apology to the snail farmer.

Frisk got up as well and started looking around the room, smiling when they saw the transparent outline of their shy ghost friend near the wall that connected his home to this crazy pink room. Their smile faded when Napstablook began to fade completely. 

 

“We’re sorry Mr. Napstablook! We’ll leave, won’t we Frisk?”

 

Ignoring MK, but feeling a little bad about the turmoil they were putting him through, Frisk called out to the snail farmer as well.

 

“Come back Napstablook. There still time before you open the snail farm right? Hang out with us...I mean we are on your property right?”

 

MK gave a low whine at the legal term “your property”, but he did walk back to where Frisk was standing. Both children looked towards the area Napstablook faded into. A few seconds ticked by. Finally the ghost reappeared, looking shyly at the two kids.

 

“....I’m not...bothering you am I?” he asked. Frisk and MK shook their heads.

 

Frisk sat down on the floor, instantly making themselves comfortable. MK cautiously followed, but Napstablook remained where he was until Frisk patted the carpet next to them. Going even more slowly and more cautiously than MK did, Napstablook awkwardly sat on the ground, still floating.

 

He looked even more uneasy than before. 

 

“....Um...I wasn’t spying on you….I just heard noises coming from this room...I wouldn’t have even bothered you...but...I thought you were someone else.”

 

Frisk held up the dairy MK was just reading.

 

“Who wrote these books?”

 

The ghost stayed quiet for a few seconds. Frisk watched as he looked around the room, almost as though he were looking at it for the first time. After a few moments he answered.

 

“This room is my…..cousin’s. His name is Happstablook … ..he doesn’t live here anymore.”

 

He, Frisk thought, t he writer was a guy who loved pink. They smiled, their soul warming up again, as they thought of their father and his knitting.

 

MK looked at the book Frisk was holding. He frowned slightly.

 

“Are you the “Blooky” he was writing about?” he asked.

 

Napstablook nodded slowly. “Happy...Happstablook...my cousin...loves nicknames...and pet names He gave me and my other cousin nicknames all the times before...before...both of them became corporeal and left….me...the farm….left the farm.”

 

Come on Blooky, you know I’d never leave you behind.

 

Frisk quickly squashed the sadness that was invading their soul. So the writer of this diaries did end up leaving Blooky. BUT! That didn’t necessarily mean he really did leave the shy, lonely ghost behind. That would be cruel. He even wrote how upset Blooky seemed by the idea of being left behind. How could somebody do that to their family? 

 

Besides, Frisk knew all about “leaving” and was an expert on the different meanings that word had. For example:

 

There was “leaving” for good, like Frisk planned to do after they realized they couldn’t live with her anymore .

 

There was “leaving” as in “I’m leaving for now, and when I get back you better have this placed cleaned up.”

 

And then there was leaving as in dead and gone, like Frisk’s parents were.

 

Ignoring those dark thoughts, Frisk thought about another bit of writing from the entry they just read. 

 

“Happy said your other cousin left to become a training dummy. I “met” one in the Ruins. Is that your cousin? Were you visiting him when I first bumped into you?”

 

Amazingly, a small smile cracked his grim face. 

 

“You met Dum-Dum….did you like him?” the ghost asked eagerly.

 

Frisk thought back to the dummy, feeling kind of bad now. They honestly thought he was just a training dummy, but there was an actual ghost inside of it?

 

“He’s not much for conversations.”

 

That seem to be the right answer because Blooky’s tiny smile got just a little bit bigger.

 

“That Dum-Dum...he’s was always quiet...but smart...very smart...he was the one who thought of putting the snail races on the farm....help keep us afloat…,” Blooky said proudly.

 

Frisk frowned, remembering all that money they lost of the snail races. Frisk always had a nagging suspicion that game was rigged.

 

“Man I lost so much cash on those races. Every snail I chose lost,” MK grumbled.

 

Once again, Blooky’s smile got a little bigger and a bit more coy.

 

“There’s a method to winning those races,” he said.

 

Oh yeah, that race is rigged, Frisk thought, but didn’t get angry about losing the fifty gold pieces on those races. Guy’s got to make a living after all.

 

The smile vanished just as quickly as it came and Blooky looked a looked a little flushed as he looked at the two kids.

 

“If you could...do you mind reading them all…? I...like hearing his words...and it’s been awhile since...you know….I’ve talked to him.”

 

MK nodded happily and wrapped his tail around the fourth book, placing it on Frisk’s lap. They didn’t open the book right away though despite the eagerness of their two companions. They looked at Blooky and once again felt the sorrow worming around in their soul. 

 

Why hasn’t he talked to Blooky in a while? Frisk found they desperately needed an answer for that. Why would Happy intentionally not talk to his family for a period of time? A family who, based on his writing, he seems to love? And from how Blooky talks about him, loves him back? 

 

There must be a reason, Frisk thought before they shook that sad feeling off and opened the fourth book. 

 

MK read the next passage:

 

“My darling Diary,

I met someone…...Interesting today. Last week I posted that advertisement for my Human Fanclub. Today was our first meeting. Only one other person came. Honestly, she’s a dork. And she’s obsessed with these awful cartoons. But she’s kind of funny too…..I want to see her again.”

 

“Alphys,” Frisk said aloud. “He met Alphys.” Who else could it be? The description was her, point blank.

 

Blooky nodded his head. “Yeah...she came here a few times...we all watched those anime things together...good music...bad story plots...we had fun…”

 

MK nudged Frisk’s shoulder gleefully. “See Frisk? There were monsters who loved humans even before you came!”

 

“Yeah,” Frisk said, smiling a little bit, wondering if they might have met Happy already. So far Blooky was the only ghost Frisk encountered, but if Happy’s solid body didn’t resemble a ghost, maybe they did meet him already….Frisk decided against asking Blooky about Happy’s whereabouts or looks at the moment. Instead they smiled wider at MK.

 

“It probably does take a brave person to create a “fan club” for humans in a world where humans are hated. The guy’s got guts...and so does Alphys.”

 

MK nodded and Blooky started to smile again.

 

“I never joined the club...too much pressure...but Happy and me love human culture...when we...lived together we would go down to the dump...Happy would find all sorts of human movies...he loved the actors and actresses...I looked for music CD’s…you humans play good music...”

 

Frisk winked at him. “I listened to your music. Much better than than the crap we humans have on the surface. You’re gonna become a musical sensation when you get to to the surface.”

 

The slight red on the ghost’s cheeks were visible against his white complexion. 

 

“...Happy used to say the same thing…”

 

Frisk inwardly winced. Blooky’s wording was bothering them “used to say.” Blooky was acting like he hadn’t seen his cousin in years which couldn’t be the case. Who would abandon their family just like that?

 

“Hey Frisk, instead of flirting, why don’t we get on with the next diary entry?” MK asked gaining Frisk’s attention again and ripping their thoughts again from the slight pain that was growing in their soul.

 

MK looked...jealous and grumpy...and got a little red in the face when Blooky moved a little closer to Frisk. In response, MK moved closer to Frisk until he was nearly sitting in their lap. 

 

He glared at Blooky who didn’t seem to notice his mean-mugging. Blooky was still glowing from the compliment he received from Frisk. Frisk glared at MK when he slammed the next diary on their lap. 

 

If this relationship is gonna work, that attitude is gonna have to go , Frisk thought before they got a little red in the face too. Well, they thought, I have officially just considered him a potential boyfriend. 

 

“Be nice,” Frisk said in a hissed whisper. After a few moments, MK put his head down and mumbled an apology. 

 

Frisk opened the fifth diary. MK read the passage:

 

“Diary…..My Dear,

My diary collection is growing fabulously. I have like five now.”

 

Frisk snorted and rolled their eyes at MK’s smug smile.

 

“Guy even gives his diaries pet names,” they mumbled.

 

“...Told you he loved doing that…”Blooky said happily.

 

MK smirked. “Yeah...he’s called it “dear”, “dearer”, “my dear”, “dearest” and “darling.”

 

Frisk laughed. “Yeah, it’s almost like he’s talking to a real person calling his diary d-...darling…?”

 

Darling.

 

Frisk felt a crawling sensation running up and down their spine. It was ridiculous though. Being upset over a stupid word like “darling.” And the only reason they were upset over it was because that rolling trashcan, Alphys created, used that word every chance he got. Any monster could use that word...never mind Mettaton was the only one Frisk met who did used it. 

 

Besides, Mettaton wasn’t even a real monster. Alphys told them she created him herself as a sort of tv star. What would she gain if she were lying about that? More importantly, Frisk just learned Happy started a fan club for humans...why would he want to kill Frisk? No...Happy couldn’t be Mettaton...it didn’t make any sense…it made more sense that Mettaton was a robot who went haywire when Alphys tried to readjust his settings. 

 

“Let’s move onto the last diary,” Frisk said, grabbing the sixth and final diary and putting it on their lap.

 

MK read the last passage:

 

“ Dear Diary,

She surprised me with something today. Sketches of a body that she wants to create for me…..a form beyond my wildest fantasies. In a form like that, I could finally feel like….”myself”. After all, there’s no way I can be a star the way I am now. Sorry, Blooky. My dreams can’t wait for anyone…..”

 

Frisk didn’t say anything for a solid minute. They didn’t notice the look of concern MK was giving them when their body tensed up or the incredible sad look that overcame Blooky’s face when MK read that last sentence aloud.

 

“Well…” Frisk said after a few more seconds. “Fuck.”

 

The crude curse word seem to throw MK for a loop because his eyes widened in shock. Blooky’s face also lost some of it’s sadness to stare at Frisk. They took a deep breath before they turned to Blooky.

 

“Mettaton is Happy isn’t he?”

 

For one second, Frisk thought Blooky was gonna disappear. They didn’t blame him if he did. After all, he had two kids trespassing on his property and going through his cousin’s personal belongings and bringing up memories he probably wanted to keep buried. 

 

To their shock though Blooky proudly nodded his head.

 

“Yeah...he’s the Underground’s biggest superstar...wasn’t he real nice to you...you know...after he was done...acting?”

 

Acting?! Frisk felt the anger flaring up in them. He thought his horrible cousin was acting every time he tried to hurt them? But that wasn’t the worst thing about this whole thing and amazingly neither was Alphys’ lie, which did hurt beyond belief, but no, the worst thing was that Mettaton abandon his family...he abandon Blooky and Dum-Dum. And the tears began to fall from Frisk’s face. The ignored MK’s shocked gasp or Blooky’s low whine of distress.

 

“IT NOT FAIR,” they screamed making the two monsters jump. “THAT STUPID SPOILED...ASSHOLE CAN IGNORE HIS LOVING FAMILY, AND LEAVE THEM BEHIND AND TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THEY’RE DEAD WEIGHT WHILE MINE ARE BURIED IN THE GROUND?!”

 

They stood up and threw the final diary across the room. It slammed against the wall with a loud boom. 

 

Blooky instantly got up and floated near them. He looked panicked and unsure of what to do, since Frisk was now heaving out loud and painful sobs, but the words came flowing out of his mouth.

 

“No...human...you don’t understand...sure he hasn’t talked to me in...y-years...but I know he cares...I know it…”

 

Despite the sobbing, Frisk choked out a miserable laugh. “Do you know where I got the key to this house?”

 

“Frisk,” MK begged. “Please calm down.”

 

They ignored him. “I got it-” and then they stopped because they knew that if they told Blooky they received Mettaton’s key from two ladies who sold things they found out of the garbage, it would crush him and destroy whatever fantasy or positive view he had of Happy...Mettaton...

 

Frisk looked from Blooky and MK and bolted from the house.

 

“Frisk!” they heard MK scream, but they didn’t stop.

****************************************************************************************************

 

They ran into BP as soon as they came out of the house. He looked exhausted and annoyed and incredibly enraged.

 

“Frisk! Where the hell have you been...what happened kid? Why are you crying?” His anger instantly evaporating.

 

Instead of answering, Frisk ran past him, heading towards Hotland not looking bad.

 

************************************************************************************* 

BP swore heavily as he watch Frisk race away. He started to push the now-empty ice cream cart, only for it to tip over and land heavily on it side.

 

“GODDAMN IT!”

 

He looked towards the house to see the armless turd running out towards him. A second later, Napstablook appeared by his side looking distressed and worried.

 

“What happened?!” BP asked the two monsters. 

 

“They’re upset...I’ll watch your cart…please tell them to come back…”Blooky pleaded.

 

BP ran after Frisk, huffing and puffing the entire way. Years of drinking and smoking had taken it’s toll on the nineteen year old’s body and he found himself getting lost in Frisk’s dust very quickly.

 

***********************************************************************************************

The tears were still burning their eyes as Frisk made it into Alphys’ lab. 

 

“ALPHYS!” they screamed. Their voice echoed in the lab, but there was no answer. 

 

They slammed their foot in the ground. Why did Alphys lie to them?! Why did she tell them Mettaton was her creation as opposed to telling them it was some dick of a ghost inside a metal suit? 

 

“ALPHYS!” they cried out again only to remember she was probably at that meeting still. 

 

They wiped their tears away, trying to calm down and think rationally about the whole thing. Why would she lie? And why would she lure Frisk into a false sense of security and make them believe she could deactivate Mettaton if she were giving the opportunity? 

 

As Frisk thought about it, they slowly walked passed the sliding white door. It opened. 

 

Frisk looked inside. It wasn’t a bathroom like Alphys said. It was dark and cold and whatever was in that room smelled like dog.

 

Frisk stepped inside the dark and cold room.


	13. Alphys' True Lab

**_It’s an elevator,_ ** Frisk thought, wiping their tears away to look around the small room that smelled like dog, but otherwise had all the functions an elevator would have, including the numerous buttons that probably led to many different rooms inside the large building.  It was...weird.  

 

How could a room look dark and scary from the outside, but once you entered inside, it was bright and cheery looking?  A feature like that couldn’t have been accidental.  It seemed like Alphys wanted it to look as uninviting as possible to any guest she may have.  Frisk frowned as they replayed the doctor’s near panic attack when they first tried to enter the room thinking it was a bathroom.  The lizard monster almost had a heart attack.  

 

“What didn’t she want me to see-”Frisk started to ask aloud, only for the sliding doors to snap shut.  

 

The lights went out so suddenly that Frisk let out a small yelp of surprise that quickly turned into a scream of fear as the elevator began to shake.  It shook so violently that Frisk started to bounce from wall to wall as such a fast rate that they began to feel their head begin to rattle.  It was so bad that Frisk honestly thought the elevator was gonna shatter like glass...until everything became so still so suddenly.

 

Sighing in relief, Frisk only had a moment to compose themselves when the elevator let out a loud hiss.  They braced themselves for whatever may come, but to their relief, they felt the elevator start to go down ever so slowly...and then stop.

 

The sliding doors opened once more and the smell of dog intensified.  Frisk calmed their breathing, but stayed where they were.  The room the elevator took them to really was dark and unwelcoming looking and felt so cold and if Frisk was being completely honest with themselves, none of that bothered them as much as the dead silence that seemed ready to greet them once they stepped off.  

 

The sliding doors waited patiently for their passenger to get off and as soon as Frisk stepped into the dark and dank room, the doors snapped shut once again, only this time with a sense of finality.  

 

The elevator had taken them to a dark grayish/bluish/greenish hallway.  The silence was unbelievable.  Frisk wanted to go back.  They could easily handle the darkness and the coldness of this secret place, but the silence…

 

**_Mom get up!  Mom say something!_ **

 

**_Dad!  Mom’s not moving...DAD?!  DAD!!_ **

 

Frisk looked back at the elevator doors before they shook their head angrily.  Alphys would just lie to them again if they conforted her about Happy/Mettaton...but…why lie in the first place?  What would it matter if she first introduced Mettaton to Frisk as a ghost who was in a metal suit?

 

The only difference would be that Alphys wouldn’t have any hope of controlling Mettaton-

 

Frisk’s eyes widened as a thought (or maybe it was another question to throw on their ever-growing pile) entered their mind.   **_Why would Alphys tell them the only reason Mettaton wanted to kill them was because his settings were all screwy?_ ** And why would Alphys lead them to believe that she could eventually deactivate Mettaton if she were given the chance?  And why were Mettaton and Alphys acting like enemies when they were clearly friends based on Happy’s diaries…?

 

A tone of theories started to flow through Frisk’s head, some of them being that Alphys was mind-controlling Happy to do her bidding, while other had Mettaton forcing Alphys to lie, while other theories involved the two monsters having a falling out and become enemies.

 

But with every theory that Frisk could come up with they still couldn’t answer their original question:   **_What did Alphys have to gain from pretending Mettaton was simply a programed robot that went ape-shit?_ **

 

Frisk looked down the hall and felt their eyes narrow in determination.  Perhaps this silent room had an answer.  

 

Taking a deep breathe, Frisk started down the hall, looking around.  The cracks in the wall and the faded paint and broken floor tiles told Frisk this place must have been abandoned.  No care or any attempt to clean this place could be seen so there was probably nothing in here worth exploring and...and...and the silence was so bad that Frisk nearly convinced themselves to run back to the elevator.  They even began to turn around, when their eyes met something that told them somebody was using this place.

 

Bolted to the dusty and worn out wall was a tv.  And once Frisk neared it, it flicked on revealing a bright green type passage.  Taking a deep breathe, Frisk took their time as they read the passage.  It was difficult and it took them nearly ten minutes to read it, but the words were simple so Frisk didn’t have to skip any.  

 

**_Entry number 1_ **

**_This is it…_ **

**_Time to do what the King has asked me to do.  I will create the power to free us all.  I will unleash the power of the SOUL._ **

 

Frisk felt an enormous amount of uneasiness settle in their chest.  What did Alphys mean by that?  It was too vague for Frisk to really understand, but it sounded...cold and threatening.  In that written text, Alphys did not sound like cute, flustered and sweet Alphys, but then again, Frisk was beginning to wonder if the Alphys they knew was even real.  The Alphys who typed this passage seemed confident and...powerful.

 

Frisk walked away from the tv only to be met with another one.  This one flicked on with another green passage.  This one had much more longer words that Frisk struggled to understand.  

 

**_Entry Number 2_ **

**_The barrier is locked by SOUL power...._ **

**_Un-fort-(screw it, Frisk thought and skipped the word)This power cannot be re-cr-eated_ ** (recreated!) **art-i-fic-** (skipped)

 **_Soul power can only be de-rived_ ** (derived!) **_from what was once living.  So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now...The souls of monsters..._ **

 

Despite their failure to read a few words, Frisk didn’t beat themselves up about it.  They got the message thanks in part to Undyne.  The monsters need human souls to break the barrier and Alphys can’t copy it. Not only that, monsters can only use the human souls when the humans have been..killed…

**You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!**

 

Undyne’s cruel words echoed through Frisk’s mind, spiking their anger greatly until they remembered the last sentence of that passage:

 

**_...to create more, we have to use what we have now...the souls of monsters…_ **

 

What did Alphys mean by that?  The “souls of monsters?” Weren’t monsters’ souls fragile?  Frisk thought back to when they first traveled through Waterfall, where those signs they passed provided them with tidbits of information about the war and the state of monster souls.  From what Frisk remembered reading, one sign had said that once a monster died, their souls barely stuck around...how can Alphys use monsters’ souls if they not only didn’t last after death, but the monster needed to be dead in order to examine the soul?  

 

Frowning and now feeling the effects of a slight headache, Frisk moved down to the next screen, hoping it would answer any of those questions.    

 

**_Entry Number 3_ **

 

 **_But ex-trac-ting_ ** (extracting!) **_a soul from a living monster would require in-cred-ible_ ** (incredible!) **_power...Besides being im-parc_ ** (skipped), **_doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL’s host.  And unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... the SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death.  If only I could make a monster’s SOUL last.._ **

 

A sense of dread started to build in Frisk as a new thought entered their mind:  how was Alphys going to get monster souls?  They ran to the next screen, noting that this was the final screen before the hallway branched off into two more hallways, one hallway going right, while the other hallway went straight up.

 

**_Entry Number 5_ **

**_I’ve done it.  Using the blue-prints_ ** (blueprints!), **_I’ve extracted it from the human SOULs.  I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death.  The will to keep living...the re-solve(resolve!) to change fate.  Let’s call this power…”De-ter-min-ation.”_ **

 

“Determination.”  

 

The silence was so bad that Frisk would have jumped from the sound of their own voice if the words on the screen didn’t keep them frozen on the spot.  Slowly without even realizing it, Frisk moved their hand over their chest were their soul always rested and reread the passage, making sure it meant what they thought it meant.  

 

The monsters...killed those kids, stole their futures...stole their souls...stole their chance to enter a painless afterlife...but that wasn’t good enough?!  Frisk blinked back the tears and they dug their fingertips into their chest, ignoring the slight pain it caused, their mind taking them to a place they tried not to go.

 

They envisioned a faceless, but scared child’s violent death and a monster, maybe Undyne or Agore...or maybe even Alphys standing over that child’s body as they dug their claws into their delicate and small chest, digging around until they found that child’s soul.  And then….

 

And then in their mind, Frisk saw Alphys holding that soul in her hands as she dug a needle or maybe something just as painful and sharp into the delicate thing’s surface and stealing more from her victims...and the soul was screaming because souls weren’t just little blobs of potential power when their bodies die.

 

A SOUL, at least a human’s soul, was their everything.  It was their personalities, their memories, who they were, their strengths, their weaknesses, their fears, their desires, their happiness, and their pain...and Frisk knew with a 100% accuracy that a human soul can still feel long after their bodies have died and Alphys thought it was okay to torture those six souls even more?  

 

Did she know is was causing pain to those humans?  Did she even care?  Did she even feel bad about doing it?  The passages on the wall sounded so cold and so scientific and so devoid of emotion…

 

How cruel was she?!  And what was she even hoping to do with that determination?  Of course, as soon as Frisk asked that question they had an answer.  She stole human determination to inject it into Monsters’ souls so their souls could be just as strong.

 

And on another sickening subject, Alphys just stated that in order to have a monster soul present itself in the clear open, the monster would have to die.  How could she inject determination into a living monster’s soul without the monster dying?   

 

A loud and mighty bark brought Frisk back to reality and they spun around to see something that could only be found in their nightmares...though at this point Frisk was wondering if they weren’t just asleep having the most vivid nightmare of their entire life.

 

The monster that stood before Frisk had the smell and the bark of a dog.  And that’s where all the normalcy left this massive monster.  It’s head was small with pointed ears with seven different eyes staring at Frisk with a deranged type of excitement and the place where it’s mouth should have been was a big, dripping gaping hole.  But then again, there were five holes like that all around their body.  

 

All six drooling holes opened and produce another powerful barking sound that shook Frisk to the core.  All those holes were it’s mouths?!

 

Then there was it’s actual body.  It was pretty much a massive blob being supported by seven wobbly and crooked legs that were shaking in excitement.  And maybe it was Frisk’s imagination, but they could have sworn they saw the shapes of cats...or maybe it was dogs between each leg.

 

Frisk took a cautious step back, holding out their hands in a peaceful and harmless manner.

 

The...dog…?..suddenly hunched down as though it were ready to pounce.  It gave a low growl.

*************************************************************************************************

“P’haps it would’be smart to mention Asriel’s death too,” Gerson muttered and was unsurprisingly greeted with shocked gasps.  

 

The group discussed the many ways to approach Asgore about taking back the declaration and finding a new way to free the monsters, but the group hadn’t quite decided on how to do it.  

 

Nicey and Alphys wanted to approach him in a gentle manner and use Frisk’s pacifist and nonviolent nature to disprove the claim that all humans weren't evil and if one human was like Frisk then chances of having millions more humans like them was high.   

 

Dogamy and Dogaressa agreed that using Frisk and their peaceful acts as evidence for humanity was a great idea, but they wanted a more aggressive encounter with the king.  Not violent, but they should come at him in such a stern and non-negotiable manner that he realizes his subjects were not only serious, but steadfast in their newfound beliefs.  

 

The only two who hadn’t really put in their two cents were the oldest members of the group, Gerson and Mr. S who were listening to the younger monsters respectfully and would exchange looks with each other every once in awhile.  

 

Finally after seeing an opening, Gerson spoke up and like he predicted the younger ones didn’t understand his statement, but he took comfort in knowing Mr. Snowdrake (Mr. S) knew to some extent what he was getting at, because the other older man nodded his head in agreement.

 

The female dog blinked and it was easy to tell she would have ripped anybody else’s head off for that suggestion, but seeing as it was Gerson, she forced her voice to be sweet and respectful.

 

“But Gerson, that’s the main reason why Asgore declared war on humanity!”

 

Her husband nodded.  “That’s right.  He still believed humans and monsters could live with each other peacefully until the humans killed his son!”

 

Gerson nodded and patiently waited for them all to shoot down his idea.  Nicey was next.

 

“Yeah Mr. Gerson, if we bring up Asriel, he might not want to listen to us.”

 

Alphys nodded.  “H-he b-barely t-talks about his ex-w-wife, l-let alone his son.”

 

Mr. S finally spoke, giving his trademark nervous laugh before he began.

 

“Gerson is saying we need something else. You all have never been on the surface.  The king knows that not all humans are evil.  He lived on the surface remember?  Gerson lived on the surface.  I lived on the surface.  We clearly know not all humans aren’t evil.  We just never spoke up.  Hahahaha...that’s not funny.”

 

Alphys looked down.  “B-but what can be useful about bringing his dead son up?”

 

Mr. S started to answer, but stopped with a puzzled look on his face.  He looked at Gerson who finally spoke.

 

“I was the Capt’n of the Royal Guards when I was a young’un.  And I was there when his son turned to dust.”

 

The whole group stared at him.  Nobody said a thing.  Nobody even moved.

 

“We all know that little fella absorb Chara’s soul and was able to cross the barrier.  Humans saw him carryin' a dead human and attacked him.  We’d do the same...I tried to tell Asgore that, but a mourning father will only listen to what he wants to believe….surry, I’m gettin’ off topic.”

 

Gerson took a deep breathe, his eyes clouding over and he took a sip of water.

 

“So anyway, after Asriel returned to us, he’s more dust than monster.  And his mother is holdin’ while his father is kneelin' down, beggin’ him to fight to stay alive.  I was there...I heard 'im tell his parents he wasn’t sorry fer not killing them humans even when he could of,” Gerson took another deep breathe.  

 

It was easier to pretend he had a bad memory.  This hurt, but he continued because this is what they needed to hear.  This was what they could use to stopped all the hatred.

 

“And Asriel died with a smile, I know ya’all know he smiled at the end of his life, but it was nothing like you could have imagined.  It wasn’t no ordinary smile..it was a proud smile...he was glad never didn’t harm ‘em and we all saw it...well...-”Gerson gave a bitter smile.  “The king saw it, but he didn’t really see it.  Not like me and the queen saw it.  All he saw was his son dying…and his son’s dying words were lost to him.”

 

Gerson stopped, the memories were too painful now, so Mr. S jumped in even though he was just as shocked at the new details pertaining to Asriel’s death as the rest of the group was, but he understood what Gerson meant.  He was a father after all.

 

“We have to remind him that killing the humans was not what Asriel would have wanted.  We have to tell him he is destroying and dishonoring the proudest moment of his son’s life.  That’s not a good thing for a fathah to do.  Not a good thing at all”

 

All the monsters sat in silence.  Nobody spoke for a few seconds until Nicey cleared his throat, wiped the tears from his eyes and forced one of his trademark smiles on his face.  

 

“This whole scene is kind of bumming me out. This restaurant is too dark and depressing and I think we all need some fresh air.  Say Alphys, mind if we take this meeting back to your lab?  It’s bright and cheerful in there.”

 

It took Alphys a minute to respond and when she did she looked miserable.  

 

“I t-think that’s a gr-great idea.”

********************************************************************************************************

Frisk hadn’t moved since the dog hunched it’s back.  Every eye was on them, waiting for them, almost daring them to do something.

 

But after a few more prolonged seconds, Frisk saw it’s legs start to shake with excitement and impatience.  It definitely acted like a dog. In fact, the monster’s behavior kind of reminded them of Greater when they started to play with the huge dog…

 

Frisk knew they had to do something.  So they did.

 

“Hey boy..er girl...um...boril...wanna play fetch?!” They forced fake excitement and energy in their voice and much to their delight, the monster started to hop all around in a crazy fashion.  

 

Frisk held up their hand and pretended they were holding a stick in the air.  They would have used the one they found in the RUINS, but Greater refused to give it back once they befriended them.

 

Once again the dog hunched over and looked at their empty hand as though they really did have a stick in it.  Frisk smiled and moved their arm left and right.  The massive monster followed it in a frenzied fashion and barked impatiently.  Frisk threw the imaginary stick down the hall near the elevator.  

 

The monster barreled after it, giving Frisk the chance to escape.  Frisk took three running steps away from the blob of a monster, but on their third step they saw a blur pass them and when they looked forward again, the huge blobby dog monster was standing in front of them again.  

 

It bent down and opened it’s mouth dropping the invisible stick by Frisk’s feet before it looked at the human expectantly.  Frisk stared at ground in disbelief.  

 

Really? They thought, but couldn’t suppress the smile that was starting to form on their lips.  The dog barked again, letting Frisk know it’s was getting extremely impatient for the human to do something.

 

Frisk inwardly shrugged.  They couldn’t outrun the dog, he was way too fast, but it seemed like wooing him was gonna be easy...plus...Frisk looked around the lab again, maybe the poor thing didn’t get to play that often.

 

“Such a good doggy!” Frisk cooed as they picked up the pretend stick.  They laughed (now more happy than scared) as the dog monster gave a mighty jump in the air, shaking the entire room when it landed back on his feet.

 

“Go get it!” Frisk screamed in delight and threw the pretend stick once more.  The dog rushed after it and in a matter of seconds brought it back.

 

Frisk took the chance and scratched it’s chest since it was too tall for them to pet his head.  The dog whined in delight and bent down so Frisk could scratch their head.  They scratch behind it’s ears making the dog bark happily.

 

“Who's a good doggy?  Are you a good doggy?!” Frisk asked in a babyish voice and the dog rolled over on it’s back so Frisk could rub it’s belly.  The dog whined once more as Frisk used both hands to scratch, all the while they kept talking in their baby voice.

 

“You just a big sweetheart aren’t ya?  You just want to play like the other doggies don’t ya?” Frisk asked playfully and began to laugh again until the dog stopped wiggling in delight to shoot them an almost...puzzled look.  All it’s eyes were narrowed slightly, causing Frisk to frown.

 

“Yikes big boy, you reminded me of Doggo with that look.  He’s a sweetheart too though.”

 

The giant monster pushed itself up and tilted its head at Frisk.  It didn’t look like it was going to attack, which was why Frisk didn’t brace themselves for any sort of impact, but it definitely looked...confused...almost like it was trying to remember something.  

 

They started acting funky when I mentioned the other dogs, Frisk thought.  They looked back at the dog who was now pacing in front of them in a nervous fashion, whining uneasily and every so often would shot Frisk an almost pleading look.

 

Frisk frowned.  What did it want?  Well, Frisk thought as they smiled brightly, hoping to calm the nervous monster down, conversation never hurt.

 

“You’re not the first doggy monster I met.  I met a dog named Doggo who has swords.  He acts mean, but he’s so cute though.”

 

The dog stopped moving and looked at them again.  Once again the dog barked impatiently, but now it also sounded choked up like it was sad or something.

Frisk wondered if the dog wanted them to continue.  It certainly wasn’t discouraging the conversation by growling.  Frisk started again.

 

“Oh yeah, there’s Doggo, but there’s also Greater and Lesser.  Greater wears huge armor, but he’s so small and Lesser’s neck can grow this long,” Frisk spread their arms wide, knowing that it  didn’t come close to showing how long Lesser’s neck actually stretched when Frisk petted him, but the massive dog monster in front of them started to jump around again in excitement.

 

All seven eyes were shining with happiness and some of those eyes started to cry.  It barked again pretty much telling Frisk to continue.   Frisk smiled widely.

 

“And finally there’s Dogaressa and Dogamy.  They’re totally in love with each other.”

 

The dog was barking so loud and so happily that Frisk had to shout to be heard.  They were laughing as the dog was barking.

 

“They can’t have one without the other one!  They love each other and I think they would love you!  If you want, I can introduce you-”

 

Without a moment’s hesitation, the massive dog monster opened the mouth that was on it’s face, revealing a row of sharp teeth.  Frisk’s laughter was silenced as it’s face neared them and before they could even move the dog’s teeth chomped down….on their sweater, making it wet with it’s drool.

 

Frisk gave a small yelp as the dog easily lifted them up and started to rush down the hall to the elevator.  

 

“W-wait, where are you taking me?!” they cried, wondering if the dog was simply going to slam their body into the hallway’s wall.

 

One of the mouths near the dog’s shoulders opened. And it barked, but Frisk heard one word out of that powerful bark: **_FAMILY._ **

 

“FAMILY?” Frisk asked and was dropped on their feet in front of the elevator.

 

Frisk looked at the huge monster who jerked its head at the elevator.  The dog barked again, and like before rough but understandable words started to come out of it’s many mouths.  Male and female voices could be heard as the words poured out.  

 

“Want to go home.”

 

“I forgot.”

 

“Need to see them.”

 

“My child.”

 

It didn’t take long for Frisk to understand. Greater, Lesser, Doggo, Dogamy and Dogaressa...those dogs were this monster’s family, but it forgot...but how can you forget your family?

 

Frisk looked towards one of Alphys’ data entry screens and then looked at the huge blobby dog monster.  

 

 **_Alphys,_ ** Frisk thought as the horror mounted as all those green passages flashed in their head.   **_What did you do?_ **

 

The dog lowered its head and pushed Frisk’s hand towards the elevator’s open button.  Despite the horror, they smiled at the huge monster.  

 

“Yeah, let’s take you home sweetheart.  Every monster needs their family.”

 

Frisk pushed the button and waited patiently for the elevator doors to open.  The huge dog monster gave an uneasy whine.  Frisk patted its chest gently as the elevator doors opened.

 

“It’s okay, we’ll go out toget-HEY!”

 

Once again the dog grabbed up Frisk and rushed them down the hall away from the elevator.  He was running so fast everything became a blur. Frisk found themselves passing new screens that lit up with green texts, but the dog didn’t stop and the speed was so intense that Frisk felt their head spin and their stomach turning, but thankfully after a few more seconds, the dog finally did stopped near three sinks and placed them down by the third one.

 

Frisk looked at the sink and then at the dog, now more confused than ever.  Was it thirsty?  All it’s mouths were panting, so maybe it was.  Smiling at it, Frisk stood on their tippy-toes and turned the sink on.  

 

The water came gushing out.  Only it wasn’t water.  Whatever was coming out of the sink was slimy and wasn’t going down the drain.  Frisk quickly backed up as three floating monster heads came out of the sink.  They were all round, but their faces...their faces looked...sad...so incredibly sad and to make matters worse, they had a melting quality to it.

 

Frisk started to move back even more from them, trying to figure out how to befriend them, but was stopped by the dog monster’s huge body that was standing behind them.  They let out a whimper as the faces floated closer to them.  Their sad mouths stretched into huge gaping grins and maybe it was the overpowering amount of fear coursing through their mind, but Frisk could have sworn they heard static coming out of the melting monsters’ mouth.

 

Their phone rang.  Without thinking, without checking the caller ID and without blinking away from the three floating faces, Frisk answered their phone, almost as though they were in a trance.

 

“H-hello?” They said.  Static greeted them for a few seconds before they heard a chorus of three whispery voices.

 

“Come join the fun.”

 

The three floating heads’ smiles widened even more as they waited for Frisk’s response.  The dog monster have a small growl and nudge Frisk’s back with their small head.  

 

 **_It wants me to take these guys with us_ ** , Frisk realized as they continued to stare at the three monsters.   **_They did look so unhappy at first.   Maybe they could use a break from this terrible place_ ** , Frisk concluded before they offered the three monsters a charming smile.  

 

“Naw I'm good, but would you like to join us?  We’re about to head outside to get some fresh air.”  

 

Frisk spoke into the phone and waited for their reaction, hearing only static for the moment.  The floating heads blinked their eyes as they looked at each other.  Finally the chorus of voices answered, each voice saying something different and Frisk really had to concentrate to understand each monster.

 

_“Will it be fun?”_

 

_“Will it be a real get together?”_

 

_“Will we be safe?”_

 

Keeping their smile, Frisk nodded and the dog barked in agreement.

 

“Yeah, it’ll be a blast for sure!”

 

After a few more seconds of static, the three voices answered once again.

 

“Okay, we’ll go!.”

 

“Lead the way!.”

 

“Don’t forget about Lemon Bread!”

 

Frisk frowned.  Who was Lemon Bread-

 

Once again, the dog picked up Frisk, making Frisk drop their phone, and rushed them to another area of the dark and weird maze-like...lab..?  From the little pieces Frisk could see, it definitely had the markings of a lab.  There were patients' chairs, tons of beds, another elevator that went...God know where...and machinery everywhere.  It was either a lab or a small hospital from hell.  

 

After passing a few more blinking screens that probably could tell Frisk just want happened to these poor but otherwise friendly monsters, the dog placed them in a room that had only two things in it.  

 

The first thing in the room was a huge and red machine that resembled a weird, but super creepy skull with thick wires coming out of it.  It made random and unpleasant hissing sounds which caused the dog's ears to lay flat on it's head in discomfort. The three floating heads huddled closer together.

 

The other item was a yellow twinkling little star by Frisk’s feet.  Seeing them everywhere through the Underground, Frisk didn’t really know what they were called, but every time they touched one, a sense of peace, determination and strength would surge through their soul, but more importantly, whenever they...died...no...whenever they were killed, their bodies would end up at the very last star they touched.  

 

Frisk began calling them SAVE points.

 

Looking at the four uncomfortable monsters behind them, making sure they weren’t too overly unhappy at the moment, Frisk reached down and touched the SAVE point.  

 

It wasn’t a SAVE point though.  Instead of feeling a small bit of warmth traveling up their arm to their SOUL, Frisk’s fingertips were gooey and slimy.  They quickly withdrew their hand only to see a small smile appear on the SAVE point.  The pretty yellow color turned a nasty grey and the SAVE point grew until Frisk was face to face with another monster.

 

This time Frisk wasn't terrified, but the monster’s body was so bad that Frisk couldn’t help but be disturbed by it.  Its body looked unnatural, like it wasn’t supposed to look like that.  For example, it had different body parts of three different monsters that Frisk already encountered.

 

It had the body of Shyren, the arms of Aaron and it's face kind of reminded Frisk of Moldsmal or maybe it was Moldbygg.  Either way, every part of it’s body was shaking like it could fall apart at any moment.  And to make it worse, it looked like it was melting, just like the the floating heads.  

 

The monster moved closer to Frisk swaying it’s hips as it moved.  Frisk didn’t step back and kind of swayed their own hips in a flirty manner.  The monster stopped for a second, but since it didn’t really have a face, Frisk couldn’t tell if they were pleased or unhappy.  

 

The scent of lemons were in the air.   **_Lemon Bread_ ** , Frisk thought and smiled at the monster.  They smiled at Lemon Bread.

 

“Welcome to my special hell.”

 

Frisk frowned as the dog gave a whine of unhappiness.  It nudge Frisk closer to Lemon Bread, pretty much telling Frisk to help it, but Frisk was at a loss at what to do.  What could they do to calm this monster down?

 

They tried flexing since it had muscular arms like Aaron.  Lemon Bread’s arm shook, but they didn’t flex back and actually snapped at Frisk, revealing sharp rows of teeth underneath the part of it’s body that was Moldsmal, but Frisk was able to dodge it easily.  The attack didn’t have any real strength behind it.  It seemed like all it wanted was for Frisk to go away.  And going away was something Frisk was not going to do.  They were not going to leave this sad and lonely creature behind.

 

But Frisk let the monster be for a few seconds.  And amazingly that did calm Lemon Bread now, but it wasn’t enough.  Lemon Bread was backing up away from Frisk.  The dog monster gave another whine and suddenly Frisk heard MK’s voice whisper an important tidbit about Shyren Frisk dismissed in their anger:

 

**_“You know, Shyren had a sister who got injured really badly.”_ **

 

Frisk couldn’t tell for sure if Lemon Bread was Shyren’s sister, but this place did look like a hospital of sorts so maybe this was Shyren's sister and she just forgot who she was like the big dog monster did. Frisk began to hum softly gaining the monster’s attention again.  It stopped in it’s tracks and Frisk saw its body begin to shake like it wanted to dance.

 

“Do you know Shyren?  She’s a monster that looks like you...kind of at least. I don’t know much about her cause...cause...cause...she doesn’t talk much,” Frisk paused as the monster started moving slowly towards them.  

 

“Ya see, she doesn’t get out much...too shy...hehehe, guess that’s why they call her “SHYren right?”  Frisk inwardly cringed at the terrible joke, but Lemon Bread’s shoulders shook slightly like they were laughing as they moved even closer to the group.

 

“So anyway, I don’t talk to her much.  We’re too different and I...don’t like water too much and she lives in Waterfall-”

 

 **_Lair lair_ ** , a small voice said, but Frisk ignored it.

 

“And she needs someone to speak for her.  You have a really pretty voice.  I think you’d like her.  Want to meet her?”

 

Lemon Bread slowly nodded it's head and Frisk gave a small cry of happiness.  

 

“Alright!  So Lemon Bread, is there anybody else you want us to bring outside?”

 

Once again, Lemon Bread nodded it’s head and very slowly pointed a gooey finger behind Frisk.  All the members of the group turned around to see another strange and deformed monster standing behind them watching the whole thing with a confused and mystified look on it’s face.  

 

It was a bird monster for sure, but like Lemon Bread, the body didn’t look natural and looked like it was made from the body parts of other monsters, more specifically:

 

The head looked like it was an Astigmatism monster with it’s huge eye staring harshly at Frisk.  The wings looked like melted Froggit’s legs and it’s actual legs looked like the legs of Whimsalot.  

 

Frisk took a deep breathe and walked towards the bird monster.  The other monsters made a path for the small human to pass.

“Hey cutie!  We’re all leaving to go outside, do you want to join-”

 

A loud growl was heard, but it wasn’t from the bird monster or even from the dog monster.  The weird bird monster’s eye blinked in confusion as all the monsters stared at Frisk.  Blushing madly, Frisk's stomach gave another angry and loud growl.  

 

All the monsters continued to stare at Frisk and then at each other.  Then they all erupted into strange laughter, including the bird monster.  Frisk saw their chance even though they were sure the bird monster was already calmed down enough so it wouldn’t attack them.

 

“Have a **_conscience_ ** .  All I ate for breakfast was a Nice Cream cone.   **_Don’t pick on me_ ** because I’m starving.”

 

The bird monster paused in it’s laughter.  Frisk made their offer again.  

 

“We’re gonna be heading outside soon.  Want to come?”

 

The bird monster quickly nodded it’s head and started to laugh once more as Frisk’s stomach growled again.  They groaned before they joined in on the laughter.

 

“Does this place have food?  I can go for something to eat.  Is anybody else hungry-OH!  BAD DOGGY!  PUT ME DOWN!”

*****************************************************************************************************

 

The dog monster placed Frisk down by a dusty and purple vending machine.  Beside the vending machine was an old elevator with four different colors decorating the sliding door: Purple, red, green and yellow.  It looked like it wasn’t working anymore.  Not that Frisk was interested in exploring where it went. They had a much more important matter to deal with.

 

All the monsters were making impatient sounds as Frisk rumbled through their pockets trying to find some coins to buy everybody some “popato chisps.”  They frowned when they realized they were out of money.  

 

They turned back around to give the monsters a sad smile and declare defeat until an idea popped into their head.  

 

They raced around to the side of the vending machine and started to push it.  It budge a little bit, but they weren’t strong enough to topple it over on their own.  

 

“Come on everybody!  Let’s commit a misdemeanor to get some food!”

 

Maybe they didn’t know what a misdemeanor was, or maybe they just wanted food so badly or maybe it was how upbeat Frisk said it, but all the monsters rallied to the side of the vending machine and pushed. With all their weight combined, the machine didn't stand a chance. It hit the floor with a loud boom that echoed.  The machine shattered into a million plastic pieces and hundreds of bags of chisps spilled out of it.  

 

They all grabbed some, Frisk opening all the bags for the monsters and they all settled down to eat.

 

Frisk was on their second bag when they felt the air get colder.  The other monsters must of felt it too because they started to whine and groan in displeasure.  

 

Something cold hit Frisk’s cheek and burned their warm skin as it melted.   The smell of salty slush hit their nostrils.  Frisk saw all the monsters staring at something behind them.  They were all shaking and making louder sounds, only these were sounds of despair.  

 

Frisk stood up and turned around, ready to face whatever poor creature that was stuck down here with a smile.  

 

Standing in front of them was another monster and while there were so many different parts of so many different monsters that made up this one monster, there was one monster in particular that Frisk recognized right off the back in that melting horrific mess.

 

A Snowdrake...A female snowdrake...and suddenly Frisk realized who she was.  And suddenly she realized what Alphys had done.  

 

Somehow, Alphys got ahold of these monsters and without killing them, managed to inject their souls with human determination. And what Frisk was seeing now, was the result of her failed experiment.  And she had been lying to the families of these monsters and Frisk knew she was, because the monster standing in front of them _**had to be**_ the supposed “dead” wife and mother of Snowy and Mr. S.

 

And how did Frisk know this monster was Mrs. Snowdrake?

 

Because the poor creature was whispering a name.  A name of a monster that Frisk met a long while ago back in Snowdin.

 

“Sn...o...wy.”

 

In that one moment all that other monsters’ acts of violence and murder didn’t compare to what Alphys had done.  Papyrus’ betrayal, Sans’ death threats, 01 and 02 killing without a moment’s hesitation, Shyren’s unprovoked killing and even Undyne’s repeated killings all seemed so minor now.

 

The deformed monster spoke the name again and it was clear to Frisk that she didn’t have a clue what the name meant, but apparently it was bringing her some comfort in saying it.  

 

Frisk fought the urge to cry and sob.  How could Alphys do this?!  How could she let these poor monsters forget who they were and who their families were and keep them locked down here because...because...because...because who the fuck cares what the reason was?!

 

Whatever reason Alphys had for locking them up and keeping them away from their families wasn’t good enough!  But Frisk pulled themselves out of their growing hatred for the lizard monster.  This wasn’t the time.

 

Frisk took another look at Mrs. Snowdrake and made their own noise of despair.  

 

Mrs. Snowdrake looked weak.  So weak and so fragile and so sad.  And she was melting, but it wasn’t like the other monsters.  Even in the poorly lit room of Alphys’ true lab, Frisk saw it.  There were little bits of dust already coming off of her.

She was dying.  


	14. Unavailable

Chapter 14, unfortunately, is not fine.


	15. A Cold Welcome...kind of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, there's some important stuff that is in 14, so good luck. I'm searching too.

Frisk’s sniffled back their sobs and weakly nibbled on their fourth chisp as Nicey slowly carried them down the stairs.  Their broken, dog-bitten arm healed after the second chisp, but Frisk kept eating them despite the fact they weren’t really hungry and it was extremely tough to swallow at the moment.  

 

But eating was the only thing that was preventing them for launching into another full on crying fit and they already cried too much already and they were pretty sure they were gonna cry again.

 

“Where is everybody?” Nicey asked, prompting Frisk to look up from their single chisp and survey the room.

 

With the exception of the chain-smoking cat monster who was lazily sitting in Alphys’ desk chair, Alphys’ fake lab was empty, .  Even though he didn’t get up, Frisk saw BP move his eyes towards their arm and nod in relief when he realized their arm no longer looked like a chew toy.

 

“Mr and Mrs. S went looking for their dumb brat.  Those mutts are taking it upon themselves to escort Gerson and Lemon Bread back to Waterfall and then help locate the other monsters’ families.”

 

Frisk smiled tiredly.   They knew those poor monsters and their families were gonna be in shock mode for awhile, but as long as the monster had each other and were far away from Alphys and her sick little experiments then everything was gonna be alright.  For all the horrifying truths that Frisk went through today...it was worth it.  

 

And on a smaller scale, Frisk was not only happy they found those trapped monsters and freed them, but they were also incredibly **_heartbroken_ ** ..wait...no that wasn’t right...why would they be heartbroken? ..No...they were **_incredibly, without doubt, happy and RELIEVED_ ** to realize who Alphys truly was.  

 

The royal scientist was just a spineless, cowardly lizard who only cared about herself and her precious reputation.   She allowed those monsters to suffer in a cold disgusting lab all alone just so nobody would figure out her failures.  And Frisk didn’t even want to think about the human SOULS she tortured…

 

**_Maybe she didn’t know they’re still alive…_ **

 

Frisk viciously stomped out that timid voice echoing inside their head.  It didn’t matter if she didn’t know.  That lizard was so cowardly and so sick and twisted that she wouldn’t have even cared if she knew she were harming those human SOULS. After all, look at all the pain she put her own kind through.  

 

 **_No,_ ** Frisk decided, feeling that unpleasant emotion bubbling in their stomach, **_Alphys is just as bad as Papyrus, Undyne, Sans, Shyren and 01 and 02.  Maybe even worse.  At least all those other monsters care about their own kind._ **

 

“How’s Dogamy doing?” Frisk asked, trying to ignore the miserable feelings those thoughts were pouring into their SOUL.  

 

BP rolled his eyes.  “He’s still a dumb dog, but if you really want to know, he went through this whole guilt stage about nearly ripping your arm out of it’s socket and I kind of, ya know, didn’t help him get over it-”

 

“BP!  You know he didn’t mean it!” Frisk said angrily only to have Nicey chuckle and BP shoot them a mean grin.

 

“Relax Frisk.  I just guilt-tripped him for a few seconds, and then told him you had already forgiven him even before he ever bit ya,” the cat smiled slyly at Frisk.  “Am I right?”

 

Frisk’s tired smile grew a little bit as they nodded eagerly.  Nicey looked down at them and offered one of his trademark Nice Guy smiles.  Frisk felt a tiny amount of their anger and sorrow disappear.  Every time he smiled there was a rare kind of sincerity to it that warmed Frisk’s SOUL up.  Frisk’s mom and dad always had that type of smile.  …So did MK...and so did a lot of other monsters.  

 

**_Toriel…_ **

 

Frisk’s eyes widened.  Their phone!  They dropped it!  What if Toriel called?  Frisk desperately wanted to talk to her.  

 

 **_Wait a minute,_ ** Frisk thought, **_Sans told me he talks to her through the door.  I’ll do that too!  I’ll just go there and wait for her and then I can talk to her.  "Easy as pie" as mom would say...just have to ignore Sans…_ ** Frisk scoffed in their head.   **_Hopefully he’s still keeping his “promise” he was so proud of and won't attack him.  What a freaking hero._ **

 

“You been through a pretty rough day, Frisk.  How does a nap sound?” Nicey asked cheerfully.

 

Frisk gave him a sour look.  They wanted to try going to the RUINS' door now, but they were pretty exhausted, both physically and mentally.  But a nap?  Seriously?

 

“I’m not five years old-”

 

“The man just said you’re taking a nap, so you’re TAKING A DAMN NAP!”  BP interjected angrily and stared at Frisk challengingly.  

 

Frisk’s sour expression deepened for a few seconds as they stared back at BP.  The cat monster took a deep inhale of his cancer stick and exhaled the smoke slowly, making him look slightly sinister.  Frisk took a chisp out of their bag, holding it up for the cat monster to see and crunched it slowly and loudly.  

 

And that was all it took.  All three of them erupted into laughter.

 

“Alright **_mom,”_ ** Frisk said jokingly making the bunny monster laugh louder.  “I’ll take a nap.”

 

BP nodded smugly.  “That’s what I thought, ya little shit.”

 

Nicey cautiously set Frisk down, making sure they were okay to walk before all three of them walked out of the lab, heading for the Resort.  

***************************************************************************************

“Hey...how are you doing…dude?”

 

“...Good to see you again.”

 

Nicey felt Frisk’s hold on his hand tighten, and the child looked down, refusing to acknowledge 01 or 02.  The trio had made their way to the Resort without incident, but standing by the Mettaton Foundation were the two huge guards 01 and 02.  They were still in their bulky armor, but their confident and strong posture didn’t seem to be with them today.  A rare sight indeed.  

 

 **_They must be on break,_ ** Nicey thought and nodded to both of them stoically.  The image of Frisk’s quick, but bloody death was still fresh in his mind.  

 

Apparently it hadn’t left BP’s mind either as the cat move to stand slightly in front of Nicey and Frisk, glaring at the two.  

 

“Fuck off,” he hissed, causing the two guards to flinch.  Frisk made a low moaning sound that could have been fear and reached for BP’s hand to get his attention.  

 

“Please don’t start anything, I don’t want a fight.  Let’s just go,” Frisk muttered, tugging on his hand and pulling him back.

 

The cat monster looked down at Frisk. Oh, he so desperately wanted to give these two fucking pricks a piece of his mind, and from the looks of the rare, but disgusted sneer on Nicey’s face, BP was sure the blue bunny wouldn’t be against a verbal assault.  But the kid...

 

The kid’s face looked tired and miserable and beaten and BP felt his SOUL soften when he stared at that face.  

 

Muttering out a disappointed, but incredibly vulgar curse word that all four people could hear, he turned back to the two guards and narrowed his eyes.

 

“We’re heading to the Hotel.  You two fuckers gonna give us a problem?”

 

The two guards shook their heads and the trio past them.  

 

“....Sorry…about everything...” 01 muttered.

 

Nicey winced in pain as he felt Frisk’s hold on his hand tightened even more.  They didn’t respond to the apology and Nicey couldn’t really blame them.  Who would want to talk to their own murderers?  

 

They past the burger-stand and read the sign that stated it was closed due to “faulty equipment.”  BP smirked and flipped the restaurant off before they headed to the hotel.  

 

As they made their way to the hotel’s check-in desk where the fingernail monster, Mrs. Polish, was working the counter.  At the moment, she was staring at a magazine, filing her actual hands’ nails, and seemed uninterested and unaware of the three people approaching her desk.

 

Frisk looked up at the beautiful and impressive hotel, giving a low whistle of admiration.  

 

“Jeez, you guys live here?  Awesome!”

 

Nicey and BP exchanged embarrassed and slightly panicked looks as they both realized something at the same time:  the hotel room they both called home was the biggest piece of shit in the world.  

 

Granted their room wasn’t the flashiest or biggest, but when you’re a Resort worker the hotel was required to offer you a small, but modest room at a “decent” price per month.   So BP took it and the room suited him just fine...for awhile.

 

But then he got too lazy to pick up his cigarette buds and empty his ashtrays.  And then he stopped throwing away his empty beer bottles.  And then he stopped picking up his dirtied uniforms off the floor so the room reeked of burnt meat.  Eventually he stopped cleaning his sheets.  

 

And then Nicey needed a place to stay since the Nice Cream Business wasn’t too profitable.  So now the room was cramped with two beds and a kitchen was always a disaster since Nicey made his own treats to sell.  To his credit he tried to clean up, but it never looked “clean.”  BP wasn’t bothered by it.   **_Just adds to the charm_ ** , he always told himself.

 

But now it didn’t seem charming.  In fact, BP was fairly certain it would be child endangerment if they brought Frisk in their room.  Maybe the hotel in Snowdin will-

 

“Mr. Tibbs.  Mr. Nicey.  I was supposed to leave my shift over an hour again,” Mrs. Polish said, interrupting BP’s thought process.  He frowned, hearing his real name.  While he wasn’t against people using it, (secretly he really liked the nickname “BP”) he hated the fact that the bitch behind the counter always used it in a clipped, polite tone.  

All three stared at the female monster behind the desk, but she didn’t return the same courtesy.  She kept filing her nails.

Nicey and BP exchanged frowns before they turned their attention back to her.  While Mettaton technically owned the Hotel along with every other business in the Resort, Mrs. Polish was one of the more upscale and wealthier workers the Resort had and one of her easier jobs was to collect the rent from all monsters who lived in or visit the hotel and she wasn’t always too nice when it came to the lower end workers.  

 

Nicey called her a snob behind her back every chance he got.  BP called her a bitch to her face every chance he got.  And Mrs. Polish would raise their rent every chance she got.  So they didn’t have the greatest of relationships.  But BP already paid the rent for the month, so they shouldn’t be talking.  

 

“If you’re shift is over Mrs. Polish, how come you’re still working?” Nicey asked sweetly trying not to let her condescending tone upset him too much.  

 

Also he didn’t want to give BP a chance to respond first.  She already raised the rent when BP asked her why she never wore her wedding ring when Mettaton was around and Nicey knew they couldn’t afford to give her another piece of gold.  

 

She scoffed and pointed  her nail-filer at Frisk.  Nicey looked down to see that Frisk was equally bothered by the woman’s cold attitude, but tried to maintain their happy and friendly expression.  

 

“This morning those two garbage ladies-”

 

“Catty and Bratty?” Frisk asked happily.  Mrs. Polish shrugged indifferently, still not looking at the three.

 

“I guess that’s their names, but anyway, they came to me with some disturbing news.   They said that there was a good chance you two were gonna be the child’s guardians at the moment, is that correct?”

 

Once again Nicey and BP looked at each other before they looked down at Frisk who seemed...a little uncomfortable about the question.  Nicey inwardly beat himself in the head. It was something that he and BP agreed they would do without hesitation, but they never ran it by Frisk, so of course the kid looked confused.  

 

Frisk quickly shook their head up at the woman, causing all three monsters to frown.  The guilt and fear was clear as day in their eyes.

 

“Oh no.  I’m...fine….I don’t want to be a problem-”

 

Nicey smiled, tugging Frisk’s hand a little bit.  “Hey...don’t worry about it.  You’re more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you want.”

 

BP nodded.  “Yeah, little buddy.  It’s not a problem.”

 

There was a silent moment between the three of them.  The fear and guilt was still in their eyes, but Nicey saw a small smile start to form on their face.

 

“R-really?  You’d really let me stay with you?  Another monster offered her home to me, b-but I-”

 

“Actually no,” Mrs. Polish interrupted coldly.  “That human is not going to be staying in your room.  That’s what I’ve been waiting to talk to you two about.  You think you can just move a human in your room and think my customers and I would be okay with that?  You two should know better.”

 

Before Nicey could do any sort of damage control, whether it be to calm Frisk down, who seemed visibly upset by Mrs. Polish’s statement, or try to explain that Frisk had nowhere to go to Mrs. Polish, BP took control of the situation.

 

He leaned over the counter, closing the gap between Mrs. Polish and himself and dug his claws into the marble counter.  He hissed at her and much to his growing rage, the woman monster seemed unimpressed and completely unresponsive to his aggressive action.

 

“Look here you bitch, you can think all anti-human bullshit ya want when you're alone, but the second you say it to my kid-”

 

BP shut his mouth when Mrs. Polish roughly pressed a shiny golden key to his nose.  It was a great contrast to the beat up copper key he used for his small disgusting hotel room.  He stared at it stupidly.  

 

Mrs. Polish sighed, clearly annoyed and went back to looking at her magazine with one hand and continued to hold the key up with her other hand.

 

“When those two ladies  told me you two might be moving the human into that nasty hotel room of yours, I was more than a little appalled and so were they.   And so were the other Resort monsters here.  So here’s a key to a bigger room.”

 

BP’s mouth was wide open now.  “Huh?”

 

“Three rooms, a clean kitchen and a big bathroom.  Perfect for a small, yet dysfunctional family if you ask me,” Mrs. Polish muttered, turning the page.  

 

After a few more seconds of shocked silence, BP regained to composure.  

 

“You know we can’t afford that-”

 

Mrs. Polish chuckled in a snobby manner.  “Obviously Mr. Tibbs, which is why the other Resort monsters and myself are paying for it.  Now take the key and go away.  I have some shopping to do today and I’m already late.”

 

After a few more seconds, BP took the golden key timidly and suddenly didn’t know what to say to the female monster who was near the top of his list of people he hated.  He swallowed, unable to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

 

“Thank you Mrs. Polish.”

 

“Hmm-mmm,” Mrs. Polish said dismissively.  Now that her hands were free, she went back to filing her nails.

 

Nicey stood up and offered her a sincere smile, not one of the fake ones he reserved for the more unkind monsters that live at the Resort.   She didn’t even bother looking up at him or acknowledging him.  

 

“THANKS HOT FINGERNAIL LADY.  YOU’RE THE BEST!”  Frisk screamed happily, slamming something on the counter loudly startling Mrs. Polish.  

 

The filer when flying out of her hands. She glared at the grinning child.

 

“Get that human away from me!” she huffed and continued to glare at Frisk as Nicey and BP each grabbed a tiny hand and pulled them away from the fuming female monster.

 

Mrs. Polish shook her head and looked down at the small child’s offering.  A bag of unopened popato chisps.  A small smile broke her cold exterior as she took the bag and placed it in her purse.

******************************************************************************************************

 

Frisk raced around the hotel room that resembled more of an upscale apartment as BP and Nicey stared in awe at the “living room.” Despite the nearly blinding golden floors and the Mettaton shaped flat screen tv and lamps, every room from the bathroom to the three separate bedrooms were elegant and pretty and smelled incredibly clean.  It didn’t smell like booze, cigarettes, vanilla, strawberry or chocolate.  

 

Frisk entered the smallest of the three bedrooms and stopped in their tracks at what they saw.  Like the two other bedrooms, this room had an oversize bed with bright red covers, a golden lamp and a small TV, but what was on the floor was what took Frisk’s breath away.

 

There were two huge cardboard boxes in the center of the room.  

 

The first box was overflowing with worn-out, but still playable toys of all shapes and sizes from dolls to toy cars to little action figures and pretty picture books.  As they moved closer to that box, they noticed a note taped to the front.

 

**_Hey Frisk,_ **

**_We found these at the dump.  Aren’t they cool?  Just thought you needed a welcome home gift.  Come visit us soon._ **

 

**_Your girls,_ **

**_Bratty and Catty._ **

 

Frisk smiled and didn’t realize their hands were shaking as they kept rereading the note.  They must have read it at least twenty times.  They barely noticed the tears falling from their face until one hit the paper, soaking the word “welcome.”

 

The toys themselves...really didn’t interest Frisk, but whatever pain and anger Alphys created in their SOUL, seemed to melt away until the only thing Frisk felt was happiness and peace.  They carefully placed the note on the floor, making sure not to crumble it and reached for the second box.  

 

Opening it, Frisk saw an large array of new and expensive clothing.  From what they could see, there were sweaters, jeans, dresses, jackets etc.  On top was a note.

 

**_Dear human,_ **

**_If you are going to live at the Resort, you’re appearance must be well-kept.  Please make an effort unlike your two guardians._ **

 

Frisk frowned, seeing no name at the bottom, therefore not knowing who to thank until they turned the note over.  The whole sheet of paper had names upon names of monsters they knew and monsters they didn’t know.  

 

Frisk’s whole body started to shake violently as more warm and painless tears fell from their face.  Their SOUL was beating so fast and was so full of love and happiness that Frisk was honestly worried that one more act of kindness would cause their SOUL to explode.  

 

They never thought they would feel like this again.  Not in a million, billion, trillion years did they ever think they would feel so loved and so welcomed again and it was honestly breaking their SOUL apart.  

 

 **_Could you die from being too happy?_ ** They pondered the question as they reread both notes again.  They didn’t notice the faint red starting to bloom through their chest.  

 

“Whoa kid.  Looks like you got a few goodies there,” Frisk heard Nicey say and when they turned around, the tears were now flowing freely down their face.  

 

“What’s wrong?  Why are you crying?” Nicey asked, quickly moving to Frisk.  

 

Frisk shook their head, trying to find the right words.  “I’m just...I...you monsters...I just…you are all so kind.”

 

It was all they could think of.  And they smiled at Nicey, expecting to see his warm smile.  

 

Instead of smiling back, Frisk watched as a dark frown crossed his face.  He looked away and Frisk saw his eyes cloud over almost as though he were reliving a moment or thinking about a memory that wasn’t too pleasant.  

*************************************************************************************************

**_Humans are the enemy.  They are unfeeling creatures that live to kill anything that’s weaker than them.  That is why we must kill and destroy them._ **

 

**_We only need three more soul before we can break the barrier._ **

 

**_King Asgore will destroy the humans and we will live in harmony on the surface._ **

 

**_Did you hear the good news?  Undyne killed the fifth human!  We only need two more souls!_ **

 

**_Remember children, a human’s soul is filled with hate, deceit, anger and revenge, but King Asgore will take it upon himself to absorb seven of those horrible souls so we can be free!  He is truly a great king!_ **

 

**_We only need one more soul before we can get revenge on the humans for what they did to us!_ **

 

**_A monster’s soul is made out of mercy, compassion and love._ **

 

Nicey dug his hands into his head, ignoring Frisk’s noise of fear as every single horrible thing that was ever uttered to him entered his mind.  Justifications on why it was okay to kill, laughter and cheering when a human life was taken and the excitement that would build at the thought of the total extinction of another race.  

 

**_You are all so kind…_ **

 

“Look Frisk, I know what you mean.  I get it, but don’t say that, not yet.  We’re changing back to what our race used to be, but we haven’t earned your species’ forgiveness or love yet.  Not when we have committed so much...unkind acts against the innocent.”

Nicey turned to look at Frisk and felt completely guilty when he realized he single-handedly ripped the happiness from them.  

 

He wanted to beat himself up for what he just did.  Despite everything they went through, Frisk was happy.  And he took that away.  But he couldn’t help it and he knew he was going to keep talking when he saw Frisk feverishly shake their head.  

 

“No, you’re wrong. Most of you are nice.  There’s just a bad monsters who are mean and horrible.”

 

Nicey walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.  Frisk laid down on the bed and rested their head on his lap, looking up at him.  Nicey felt his eyes widened as the memories overtook him again.  

 

“We’re nice now Frisk, because...of you…” he laughed.  “Did anybody tell you you kind of screwed up everything by being the complete opposite of what we were taught a human was?”

 

Frisk smiled.  “MK told me something similar.  I’m not sorry.”

 

“And you shouldn’t be, but the monsters you’re seeing are not the monsters I saw when I was a kid.   I heard monster children talk about the terrible things they wanted to do to humans.  I heard adults encouraging that way of thinking.   And it was all because of King Asgore.  When he declared war on humanity, he allowed his people to change into bloodthirsty monsters who could justify killing the innocent.  He didn’t bring hope back when his kids were killed.”

 

At this Frisk lifted their head and stared at the Nice Cream Salesman.

 

“What?”

 

Nicey blinked, finally being pulled out of his memories.  

 

“You haven’t heard the story on why Asgore declared war on humanity?”

 

Frisk frowned.  “I thought it was because you guys lost the war and wanted revenge.”

 

Nicey shook his head.  “Amazingly when we lost and were banished underground, we had no desire to destroy the humans.  In fact, from what my history teacher told me, the King and Queen didn’t even want to break the barrier using HUMAN SOULS.  They were trying to free their people using a more peaceful and merciful method.”

 

Frisk sat up.  “What changed that?”

 

 **_This is gonna be a hell of a bedtime story,_ ** Nicey thought as he picked Frisk up and tucked them into the bed.  They didn’t struggle or make any sounds of displeasure.  

 

He sighed.  “So...a long time ago, a human fell into the RUINS.  Injured by its fall, the human called out for help….”

 

****************************************************************************************************

 

He shouldn’t have cared as much as he did.  He even tried to convince himself that the kid wasn’t his problem to worry about anymore.  The kid didn’t want to be friends, didn’t want his help-

 

 **_Help?_ ** The nasty little voice inside his head had instantly laughed at him when he tried to convince himself of that during the first hour he waited for the lady to come.    **_What help did you really offer them?  How did you keep your promise?  By NOT killing them?  That’s real cute Sans.  Maybe next time you can videotape all the kid’s deaths.  Ya know...the ones you could have saved them from but didn’t?  Give yourself some good memories on how you KEPT YOUR PROMISE!_ **

 

That voice just wouldn’t stop and what made it worse was that it was his own voice that was mocking him.  It wasn’t Papyrus’ voice scolding him for what he had done or the lady’s voice or even his own father’s voice.  That horrible voice that wouldn’t stop laughing at him and reminding him how pathetic he was sounded exactly like his own speaking voice.  And didn’t give him any peace for the many hours he waited for the lady to visit.  

 

It just kept laughing at him and going through every vivid detail of every death the human suffered and gleefully and angrily pointed out the many different times Sans could have stepped in and protected them, but choose to watch instead.  

 

And then there was that line the voice kept repeating over and over again:

 

**_You’d be dead where you stand._ **

 

**_You’d be dead where you stand._ **

 

**_You’d be dead where you stand._ **

 

**_You’d be dead where you stand._ **

 

He couldn’t get the human’s face out of his mind after he said that to them.  They were scared, but that wasn’t the worst emotion he saw.  There was sadness, anger, disgust, but the one emotion that left him feeling like somebody punched him in the ribs was their look of betrayal.

 

They had trusted him.  Thought he was friend.  Thought he was a good monster.  But all that changed the instant he had admitted he would have killed them on the spot for no other reason than for being a human.  

 

Now he knew exactly how Papyrus and Undyne felt.  He felt...evil.  He didn’t protect the human even though he made that promise.   He let them die over and over again.  

 

**_And then you had the nerve to ask them how awesome of a job you were doing protecting them.  You really are a piece of work Sansy.  Why’d you even make the promise if you weren’t gonna keep it?_ **

 

“Shut up.” Sans muttered, feeling his magic spike up into his left socket.  He couldn’t believe he was actually arguing with himself.  

 

He heard the voice laugh.

 

**_What are you going to do if I don’t?  Oh yeah...nothing, cause that’s what you do best Sans._ **

 

“Stop talking.”

 

**_Could have stopped all the pain that Papyrus and Undyne are feeling right now if you had stepped in and actually protected them.  Guess taking naps was more important than keeping your kid brother from feeling like the glory-seeking asshole he is huh?_ **

 

Blue smoke started to pour out of his socket now.  

 

**_You know, you and Papyrus are very much alike.  You both claim friendship and love and peace to the human, but at the end of the day you both will sell out those beliefs for selfish reasons.  You are just too lazy and Papyrus was willing to have the human kill for a shot at being in the Royal Guard._ **

 

“Leave Papyrus out of this.  This is about me.”

 

The voice laugh again.   **_This is about you Sansy.  If you had actually made a point to care about the human, then Papyrus may have cared a little bit more about the human too.  The young learn from the old as they say  You both are pathetic._ **

 

Sans forced himself to calm down.

 

“I needed to see if the human was worth protecting.  Why would I want to protect a human that would kill?”

 

**_Really Sans?  How many non-violent acts and brutal deaths did the human have to go through before you deemed them “worthy?”  Since when do you have a RIGHT to JUDGE THEM?_ **

 

At the word “judge” Sans felt all the magic drain from his body and the voice grew silent when he finally realized why he cared so much about making amends with the human.

 

The human had judged him just like they had judged Papyrus and Undyne and all the other monsters who killed.  And the verdict was guilty.  The human had concluded that monsters like them didn’t deserve their kindness, their love, their friendship and their forgiveness.  

 

The worst feeling of all was knowing that Sans would have dished out the same judgement if the human had killed or injured a monster.  He couldn’t argue with the human’s decision.   But he could change the verdict.  The human was merciful and compassionate and a SOUL like that should have forgiveness in it too right?  He just needed to prove himself to them.

 

“Knock knock.”

 

The lady’s sweet and gentle voice broke the silence and brought a small amount of peace to Sans’ SOUL.  

 

“I met the kid!  The human that came out of here!” he blurted out, ignoring the joke completely.

He started to panic when the lady didn’t answer for a second.  He closed his sockets and forced out the words that stung his very SOUL as he spoke them out loud.

 

“I didn’t keep my promise.  I didn’t protect them.”

 

More silence until Sans heard a heavy and heart-wrenching sigh come from the other side of the door followed by sad laughter.

 

“Oh...well...I see…so is it safe to assume the murderer Asgore has his final SOUL to wipe out the human race?”

 

Sans blinked.  He knew she was a recluse monster, but the details to why were never clear to him, but he never thought it was because of how Asgore was running the Kingdom.  Of course it should have been obvious.  The promise she wanted him to make should have let him know where she stood on the issue.

 

“No, they are still alive.  They have a great amount of determination. Keeps ‘em from staying dead.  They have a strong SOUL.”

 

The lady let out a choking sob of relief.  “I felt it too.  Their SOUL is so strong.  They’re so good.  So kind.  So merciful and so gentle.” her voice grew cold now.  “They have a rare SOUL that needs to be protected and cherished, but luckily for them they have the ability to protect themselves.”

 

Sans winced feeling the accusation in those words.  “I need your help.  I did something terrible and I really hurt the human.  Undyne, you know the captain of the Royal Guards? She killed the human and my brother harmed them really bad too,” he swallowed as he said the next sentence.   

 

“We all want to take our actions back.  We all want to be forgiven.  But the human doesn’t want to listen to us.  They won’t answer our phone calls, they ignore everything we have to say.  They won’t give us a chance to make it up to them.  They HATE us.”

 

The door remained silent for a few more seconds before the lady spoke again.

 

“You made your decision my friend, just like your brother made his and Undyne made hers,” the lady stated coldly and regretfully.  

 

Sans desperately clawed at the door, leaving scratch marks on the stone wall.  This wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go.  She was supposed to be on his side.  She was supposed to offer him some advice on how to make things better.

 

“I need help.  Please come out.”

 

“I’m sorry my friend, I swore I would never leave the RUINS after I saw what monsters had allowed themselves to become." 

 

Sans heard her footsteps retreating.  Her voice was getting more softer, more far away.

 

“I can’t help you my friend.  I don’t want to sound cruel, but I have never allowed myself to be in your position.”

 

Sans felt his magic spike up once again.  The blue smoke poured crazily out of his eye and without thinking, he summoned a Gaster Blaster.   The floating head took aim and shot a blue beam of energy from it’s mouth at the door.

 

When the smoke cleared the door remained unharmed and unscratched.  Sans slammed his hand against it once more.  He felt exhausted, but he couldn’t control his magic.

 

“Oh you’re so high and mighty huh?  How come you didn’t help the kid yourself, huh?  You just hide there forcing strangers to make promises because you can’t keep them yourself!”

 

There was no answer, and Sans blasted the door one more time before he made the floating monster head disappear.  

 

 **_“_ ** What do I do?” he asked himself.

 

**_Call me crazy, but you could start keeping your promise now.  Ya know, really keeping your eye on the kid and protecting them.  The kid might not want your help, but doing anything besides seeking advice from old ladies might get you closer to righting your wrongs genius._ **

 

For once Sans was grateful for the voice.

 

****************************************************************************************************

Flowey carefully hid behind one of the thin trees in the forest right beside the RUINS’ door as he watched Sans disappear in a puff of blue smoke.  

 

Up until this point, Flowey wasn’t sure if he liked the way Chara was playing the game.  It was a timeline he didn’t know could exist and he honestly thought he knew all the timelines and every possible outcome based on his own experiences playing the game...but this…

 

He had no idea there was a timeline where monsters could be put through so much mental anguish and guilt over the decisions they made.  Flowey never thought he would see “THE GREAT PAPYRUS” break down and lose his stupid happy-go-lucky personality, just like he never thought he would live to see the day where Undyne was reduced to a pathetic slob working in that old man’s shop, clutching a pair of dusty shoes in her spare time.

 

And Alphys...man.  Flowey nearly busted a gut laughing when Alphys’ whole world of lies brutally came crashing down on her all at once.  Usually during most of his “good” timeline walk-throughs, Flowey's more **_merciful_ ** decisions allowed Alphys to admit her lies one at a time in a way where nobody was truly angry with her, but damn....she almost became dog chow in this timeline.  

 

That shouldn’t have happened.  Chara hadn’t killed or harmed any monsters for that to happen.  This level of violence, self-loathing and devastation shouldn’t exist in a mercy run.  

 

An unnatural large smile came over the soulless flower’s face.  He loved Chara.  He really did.  They made things so interesting.   They really were the only person who was any fun anymore.  

 

They always had such a great talent for breaking the rules and making things unpredictable and how they were playing this game showed Flowey they still had that talent….even though there were moments when things got kind of annoying.  

 

Everybody was crying all the time.  Chara was taking too long with their journey and making friends with losers instead of the boss monsters.  Having friends like Nicey and the dogs and BP wouldn’t help them achieve their happy ending, since they needed to befriend Undyne, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus, Toriel and Asgore, but they would learn that soon enough.  

 

Flowey was going to make sure they learned a few things after their FIRST FIGHT with Asgore.  Unfortunately when that happened, Flowey was going to make sure the power to reset would be his again.  

 

Don’t get it wrong,  it wasn’t like he wanted to take anything away from Chara, but...this game was just so much fun and he didn’t want it to end anytime soon and knowing Chara, they would get bored soon enough and choose to end the game before too long.  

 

But then again, there were other factors at play that weren’t in the other timelines that were...a tad concerning for the soulless flower.  Factors that might prevent Chara from reaching Asgore.  

 

The monsters were screwing things up by starting that stupid pro-human group.  There was a good chance if that group ever got to Asgore or if Asgore saw how his subjects were now horrified by the idea of eliminating the human race, he might take back his declaration of war.  

 

No...scratch that.  He would take it back.  

 

The old fool became a quivering mess of regret after he killed the first human and by the time he collected the sixth soul he was a sleepless sobbing monster that couldn’t even look in the mirror.  He would jump at the chance to take back his declaration.  

 

And right now with Chara was being so damn unpredictable and so unlike their usual self, they might not want to reset to start a new timeline.  And there goes the game...

 

But despite those fears, Flowey doubted that would actually happened.  Even though Chara discovered Alphys’ true lab and that ridiculous plan she had with Mettaton way earlier than they should have, uncontrollable events were pushing Chara  closer to Asgore.  

 

The laws of this world still forced Chara to move forward regardless of whether they were trying to get to the next stage or if they simply wanted to learn something new.  

 

Flowey smirked.  Something would happen to have them confront Mettaton and then they’d be in Asgore’s flower garden.  

 

So for now, he enjoyed another sight he thought he’d never see. Sans...broken and beaten.  

 

Even when Flowey killed his brother and then killed him in the Judgement Hall during those “bad” runs,  the flower never had the privilege of seeing Sans in despair.  He didn’t know exactly what was going on inside the small skeleton’s mind at the moment, but it must have been delightfully SOUL-breaking if it was forcing Sans to actually reflect and regret his decisions.  

 

 **_I love Chara,_ ** Flowey thought once again and was just about to go underground when he heard something.  It sounded like something heavy and sturdy being pushed along the ground.  He looked towards the RUINS’ door.

 

His mouth flung open at what he saw.  

 

Toriel was coming out of the RUINS!

 

 **_No, what the hell is she doing?   She’ll stop everything from happening...it’s too soon_ ** , Flowey thought.  

 

She was the only element in this game that could stop Asgore.  She was the only factor that could really stop the game.  She shouldn’t be coming out...at least not now.  Now the gaps between each event was becoming more dangerous.

 

He needed to fix those gaps otherwise his plan to regain the power to reset might be compromised.  If she was coming out, the other monsters needed to be at the Judgement Hall too.  

 

 **_Papyrus_ ** , Flowey thought. **_Where the hell is that idiot?_ **

 

Feeling something close to panic, Flowey went underground to search for the tall skeleton.

 

*************************************************************************************************

Frisk wasn’t really asleep, but they pretended to be as Nicey finished the story of why monsters hated humans.  They kept their eyes closed until Nicey got up and left their new room closing the door behind him.  

 

It was a...sad story.  Death and loss were always the saddest of stories and losing the ones you love is the worst type of thing that can happen to you.  In some ways, Frisk understood Asgore’s anger.

 

They understood the rage he felt when the humans killed his son, because Frisk felt something similar once upon a time too.  They knew what it was like to hate someone so fiercely that you want to hurt them over and over and over again until they no longer existed.  

 

Pain always brings rage and hatred.  

 

But it wasn’t a justification to what he had done.  He killed six innocent human children because his hatred and rage overrode his mercy, love and compassion.  He took their SOULS and imprisoned them for years and allowed them to be tortured and experimented on.

 

Experimented on….

 

Frisk sat up in bed as a realization hit them.  He had to have known what Alphys was doing to those monsters down in that lab.  He had to have known.  After all, HE was the one that assigned Alphys to recreate a human SOUL.  HE was the one who asked his subjects to give their sick family members to Alphys.  HE allowed her to take the determination out of the six human SOULS he stole.

 

He knew what was happening to his people.  He knew what Alphys was doing to them.  HE HAD TO HAVE KNOWN.  What kind of idiot king wouldn’t check their scientist’s progress?  No king would just let their scientist do what they want without an update.  

 

 **_Only a fucking moron would do that,_ ** Frisk thought and started to bite their thumb nervously.    

 

 **_He won’t listen to his people,_ ** Frisk thought and bit more angrily into their digit  The taste of blood filled their mouth.

 

**_If he allowed those monsters to suffer in that disgusting lab, he won’t care about what they have to say.   Those SOULS…._ **

 

Frisk got up from their bed quietly.  Those SOULS needed to be saved and freed from Asgore.  They deserved to receive their afterlives with no more suffering and agony.  And freeing them will prevent Asgore from becoming a God and killing all the humans.

 

“I’ll save them all.” Frisk declared softly and quietly crept out of their room.  

  
BP and Nicey never noticed them leaving.  They were too busy arguing in the kitchen.  BP wanted to home-school the kid.  Nicey wanted them to go to school and make friends.


	16. Unavailable

I see it on Google, but it doesn't have a way to get a cached version. Sorry, see you next available chapter!


	17. Unavailable

Nope to 17, but 19-20 (the final one) are available.


	18. Unavailable

Well then, only 2 left to go! Unfortunately, this one has some important stuff.


	19. No Chapter Title (sorry)

It was uncomfortable.  It was uncomfortable, unpleasant and extremely hard for Nicey not to stare at his four very unwelcome houseguests with disdain, disgust and dislike.  BP and he sat on one side of their shiny, expensive new table nearest to Frisk’s room, while Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys sat on the other side of the table.  

 

The ex-queen, Toriel, was speaking and everybody, BP included, was hanging onto her every word. She explained why she left.  How she became disgusted with Asgore and couldn’t bear the person he became.  And told the story about how she met each child and how each child eventually left her.  And was killed.  

 

Toriel spoke with the air of somebody was who strong and while she looked deeply saddened with every word, she never stammered or stuttered any of her sentences.  Sad, but strong.  Logical, but merciful.  Somebody that the kingdom needed in their darkest hour.  

 

Nicey usually kept his claws inside his paws but right now they were out and digging silently into the wooden table.  Nobody seemed to notice.  

 

 **_Where the hell were you_ ** , he thought miserably as he listened to her speak like the rest of the monsters.  

 

When she brought up the little ballerina, Undyne looked away, covering her injured eye with her hand, while gripping her knee with her other hand.  Nicey saw Alphys cover her hand over the ex-captain's hand and grew a little more disgusted with his houseguests.  Undyne kills a human and she’s the one who gets comforted?!  

 

He bit his tongue though and forced himself to listen to the ex-queen even though her words were starting to hurt him badly.  

 

It just seemed odd to him that for a woman who seemed to pride herself on trying to protect those seven innocent human children **_and_ ** said she was disgusted with Asgore’s plan to destroy humanity, Toriel had no interest in protecting them as soon as they exited the RUINS.  

 

As a matter of fact, now that Nicey was thinking about it, shouldn’t she have stuck around and tried to undo the damage that her husband made with his decree instead of leaving?  Wasn’t she the co-ruler of monsters?  It wasn’t like she had been a trophy wife.  Gerson said she had been the brains of the operation.  Why did she leave?  The monsters would have listened to her.  Was she too grief stricken by the loss of her children to do anything?  

 

Nicey frowned. **** Maybe….but how could she sit back and watch not one, not two, not three, but seven children walk away knowing they were gonna die?  Why didn’t she go with any of them?  Why?  

 

Once again, Nicey held his tongue, a part of him wanting to ask these question, but the other part of him asking “why bother?”  Whatever answer she was gonna give wouldn’t have been good enough.  

 

It was just like Asgore killing all those children and planning to murder all the humans.  Yes, monsters were stuck down here because of humans, but was that a good enough reason for what the king was planning?

 

Nicey looked over at BP to see if maybe his best friend was feeling any of this emotions, but it seemed like the cat monster was just as engrossed in Toriel’s tales as Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys were.

 

Then Toriel started to talk about Frisk.  The final child.  The child that was still alive.  

 

“At first, I thought I would let them make their journey alone…” The ex-queen paused for a second, trying to find the right words to help justify her actions.  “But I could not stop worrying about them.”

 

She gave a deep sigh and looked right at Nicey, smiling at him.  It was a warm and motherly smile and Nicey had to fight everything in him not to cringe at it.

 

“Their adventure must have been so treacherous, but luckily they made a few good friends here.”

 

BP’s usual unpleasant and hard face broke into a shy smile, but Nicey didn’t smile back.  The other three monsters had different reactions when Toriel declared that statement.  Papyrus looked away, Alphys covered her face with her hands, and Undyne closed her good eye.  

 

“W-what brought you back here, your majesty?” the fish warrior finally spit out after she got ahold of her emotions.

 

Toriel looked at her and Nicey saw a flash of concern come over the female goat’s face.  She patted the fish’s hand.

 

“If the child made it to Asgore, they’d be burden with a horrible choice.  We all know that in order to leave this place, they would have to take the life of another person.”

 

 **_No shit_ ** , Nicey thought, feeling his eyes narrow.  He was shaken out of his growing annoyance and anger when he felt BP wrap an arm around his shoulder.

 

“What’s wrong buddy?  You’re shaking pretty bad,” BP muttered.  Nicey looked at his hands and noticed they were indeed shaking even through his claws had firmly nailed him to the table.  Instead of answering he shot his friend his trademark smile.  BP wasn’t reassured in the least.  

 

Nicey didn’t blame him. They’ve known each other for years and no matter how often the blue bunny tried to cover up his more...negative emotions with a smile, the cat always saw right through it.  It really didn’t surprise him though.  If there was one person on earth who could read through him like a book and could detect a fake smile a mile away, it was Tibbs Whisks also known as Burgerpants, also known as BP.  

 

“It is not right to sacrifice someone to let someone leave here,” Toriel said confidently, just like a mother who knew what was best.  

 

And finally Nicey lost his composure and slammed his fist down on the counter, making all the monsters jump.  His smile was still plastered to his face, but there was no warmth or sweetness to it and now he felt his whole body shake.

 

“Well now, thanks for finally showing up Toriel!  Better late than never.” He growled, making the queen’s eyes widened with shock.  

 

Nicey knew he must of looked crazy.

 

“W-what….um...young man, what’s the matter?”  Toriel asked, getting up and started to walk towards him in, what Nicey assumed, was a comforting manner, but the bunny held up his hand, halting her.   He didn’t want her to touch him.  

 

BP’s hold on his shoulders tighten.  “Nicey, what the hell’s the matter with you, buddy?  Calm the fuck down.”

 

Nicey pulled away from his grip, standing up.  Instantly Undyne sprung up and stood beside the goat monster, standing a bit in front of her in a protective manner.  The fish warrior shot Nicey a warning look, but Nicey ignored it, focusing his glare on the queen.

 

He wanted to yell at her.  Nicey wanted to yell so many things at the queen of all monsters who could have prevented all of this.  He wanted to yell about how she waited for six kids to die before she decided to do something.  And he wanted to yell that she wasn’t even worried about the kid getting killed either!  She  just showed up because there’s a chance they might kill her old fuck buddy!  

 

He started to open his mouth and then there was a knock on the door.

 

“I’ll get it!” He said a little too loudly to be normal and stomped past his four houseguests.

************************************************************************************************

Muffet coughed uneasily and shifted her all her weight on her right leg as she nervously waited for somebody to answer the door of the fancy hotel room.

 

She held a freshly made cake with two of her arms as she continued to wait, debating whether or not to knock again, and quickly decided she wouldn’t  as to not appear as a nuisance to the people inside.   

 

In a way, she realized how sad this whole situation was.  She ran a high-class bakery for only the richest of the Underground and was able to...dominate when it came to business, but here she was, completely unnerved about visiting somebody.  Though to be fair, it had been a long time since she visited somebody.  She didn’t even know how long she should wait before she left or if she should knock again after a certain time and she knew she was making this waaaay more complicated it was.  

 

She wished one of her spiders were here with her.  After all, it was their brilliant idea for her to deliver the cake herself as opposed to having one of her mini-workers do it.  The spiders told her it would be easier make more of a connection with the human if the human actually saw her and Muffet begrudgingly agreed, acting more confident than she actually felt when she left her spiders to close up the bakery.  

 

Now she wasn’t too much of anything but nervous.  She tried to ignore her uncharacteristically high anxiety, opting to stare at the purple cake she quickly but carefully whipped up after her meeting with the small human.  And even she had to say it was probably one of her finest creations ever made.  Even her spiders were impressed.  

 

The dessert was in the form of a spider, where the cake itself made up the body, while tiny purple cupcakes made up the legs.  Each leg was made up of seven different cupcakes with splashes of tiny frosted red hearts decorating the entire thing.  The eyes of the spider was made out of monster candy and the fangs were made from mini-chocolate chips.  

 

And just to make it a true spider masterpiece, Muffet lined the plate up with white cotton candy to make up the spider web.  

 

Yep...it really was one of her best.  

 

The door opened and Muffet smiled as best as she could trying her hardest not to reveal her fangs.  Her fangs seemed to unsettle a lot of other monsters and this was supposed to be a friendly visit, not a business transaction so her dominating tactics were not needed.

 

The spider-monster took a step back when the blue bunny monster stepped out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.  He looked...angry.  Angry and stressed and unhappy and Muffet realized she came at a very very bad time.

  
And she was just about to apologize and leave quickly, but whatever was irking the bunny monster seem to leave him almost instantly because one of the sweetest and friendliest smiles Muffet ever seen came over his face, nailing Muffet’s feet to the ground.

 

For years, whenever Muffet received a smile from either a customer or a passerby, it was always nervous and twitchy.  But today she was given two genuine smiles.  One for a human and now one from a monster.

 

 **_Today is a good day_ ** , Muffet thought and for once in her life she wasn’t referring to her profits or cash flow.

 

She watched the blue bunny scratch the back of his head as his smile remained friendly, but grew a little baffled, which Muffet could understand.  He didn’t even know her and she didn’t even know his name.

 

“Miss Muffet?” he asked and Muffet inwardly winced.  Okay, he knew her, but she didn’t know him.  

 

Not a great way to start off a friendly visit and she briefly wondered how he knew her since she couldn’t remember a time when they ever spoke to each other.  Did he just know her based on her business and...um...rumors?  

 

Muffet frowned at the thought, hoping that wasn’t the case.  She learned through her spiders that some people had some...unpleasant things to say about her.  One of the biggest and most disgusting rumor she heard about herself was that she ate other monsters, which was a complete lie.  Just because she licked her lips at customers as a way to encourage them to make a purchase didn’t mean she was gonna eat them.  Really doesn’t anybody understand aggressive business tactics?

 

Muffet must been taking too long to answer because the blue bunny coughed trying to get her attention.  She blushed, feeling stupid.  That was a feeling she wasn’t used to either.

 **_At least I have a speech prepared_ ** , she thought smirking slightly and practice it in her mind real quick.   **_Hello deary, my name is Muffet and I just wanted to drop this off for Frisk.  I hope they enjoy it!_ **

 

She opened her mouth to say that, but when she saw the blue gentleman’s smile again, her prepared speech flew out the window.  

 

“I’m going on vacation!”  She blurted out stupidly.

 

 **_I just said that_ ** , she thought as she felt her purple blush deepen. **_Didn’t say a word from my speech, didn’t ask his name, didn’t explain why I’m here, I  just...I should leave._ **

 

And she was just about to slam the cake at him and run away from pure embarrassment when  the bunny monster’s grin got a little sly.  He leaned on the door and casually crossed his arms.  

 

“So the high-class baker lady is coming over here to brag about it to the lowly nice cream man huh?”  

 

 **_Oh no_ ** , Muffet thought as she quickly shook her head.   **_Now he thinks I’m being mean to him!  No!  I’m screwing this up-_ **

 

“Whoa whoa, easy Miss Muffet.  It was just a joke,” he quickly said.  Apparently her distress was easy to see.

 

 **_A joke?  Was he laughing at me?_ ** Muffet analyzed his face suspiciously trying to look for any signs of mean-spiritedness but his sweet smile remained on his face.  

 

 **_Okay_ ** , she thought taking a deep breath, staring at her cake.   **_Let’s try this again._ **

 

“I met up with the human today and they...um...before I go on vacation, I just wanted to give this to them as a sort of “Welcome to the Neighborhood” gift.”

 

She held out the cake for the blue bunny whose grin got bigger as he took the massive cake from her hands.  He looked at it, gave a low whistle of admiration causing Muffet to puff up her chest in pride.  

 

“No wonder they call you the best.  This thing is a beast!”

 

Muffet waved his compliment away, growing a bit more confident.  Huh...guess her spiders were right.  This making friends thing was a way easier than she thought.  She just had to find the right people and it seemed this bunny fellow was easy-going enough...kind of reminded her of the human in a way.   

 

“It’s nothing deary.  Just a little present to welcome them and thank them for treating my spiders so kindly.”

 

The bunny nodded, his smile growing softer.  Muffet felt her heartbeat spike for just a second.  Maybe it was a good thing her workers weren’t with her.  She’d never hear the end of this.

 

“That’s very sweet of you to take time out of your busy schedule to make this and I’m sure Frisk will love it.”  His smile dropped a little bit.  “They’ve been through alot, but this will definitely brighten up their day!”

 

Muffet titled her head sympathetically.  “Been a bad day for them?”

 

The bunny scoffed.  “Understatement of the century, my dear spider lady.  The kid has been sleeping for three hours now and I hope a little rest will do them some good.”

Muffet smiled again, accidently revealing her fangs but to her amazement the bunny monster didn’t seem turn off or frightened by them.  

 

“Well I can tell you will complete confidence that sweets and a good nap can make anybody feel bet-” Muffet started to say, before a realization hit her, along with a sort of unexplainable sense of dread.

 

“Wait, did you say they’ve been sleeping for three hours?”

 

The blue bunny nodded.  “Yep, crashed and hasn’t stirred once-”

 

Muffet shook her head, the dread growing every second.  “No that’s not possible, deary.  I met them about an hour and half ago.”

 

The bunny’s smile vanished as he stared at her in disbelief.  “What?”

 

She nodded her head.  “Yeah, they were just outside the hotel when I met them...they asked me...oh!  They asked me if I knew a way to NEW HOME since the elevator was broken!”

 

The blue bunny turned around so quickly that the cake and the mini-cupcakes flew off the plate splattering to the floor.  He opened the door and raced back inside, leaving the spider lady outside, standing beside her ruined creation.  She didn’t take any notice or offense to her smashed cake.  She had a much more upsetting thought on her mind.  

 **_Mettaton_ ** , Muffet thought, her many eyes widening with realization.   **_Of course he would learn I didn’t give Frisk the papers!  No wait...maybe the bunny is wrong.  Maybe the kid is sleeping and I making a big mess for nothing-_ **

 

“Goddamn it!  I’m gonna break that kid’s fucking legs if it’s the last thing I do!”

 

Muffet jumped at the new voice that boomed from inside the house.  A second later the blue bunny and a cat monster who reeked of cigarette smoke now stood at the doorway.  The bunny looked terrified and the cat looked pissed, stressed **_and_ ** terrified.  

 

“They couldn’t have gone to NEW HOME right?  The elevator’s broken, Nicey,” the cat said to the bunny, but even as he said that Muffet heard the despair that was rising steadily  in his voice.

 

She swallowed nervously, wishing she stuck by Frisk or warned these two or Frisk about Mettaton’s plan instead of leaving the kid all alone to bake a fucking cake.

 

She quickly grabbed both of their arms to get their attention, vaguely noticing the small gathering of other monsters standing behind the cat and the bunny.  She ignored those new monsters and focused on the two monsters that mattered most to the kid.  

 

“Mettaton paid me to get Frisk to go to him.  Said he was gonna kill them to protect the king.”

 

Muffet saw...Nicey was it?....Muffet saw Nicey’s face fall into more of a panic, but she quickly shook him to get his attention again.  

 

This wasn’t good.  This was probably the worst day of Muffet’s life and big surprise it was the one time she decided to break routine and try something that didn’t involve money or customers or business deals.  

 

When she got back to her bakery she was gonna yell at her spiders for encouraging her to do this stupid impulsive action and cancel her spontaneous planned vacation.  She never felt guilty about overpricing her sweets.  Now she had too many things to feel miserable about and she hated the feeling.

 

Spending hours counting money never resulted in two grown men looking like they were gonna have nervous breakdowns.  

 

“I didn’t follow through with it, but if they aren’t here they could be with him.”

 

The cat growled, revealing a pair of impressive looking fangs himself.

 

“Fucking robot, I’ll rip him apart-”

 

“What going on?” A new female voice spoke up from behind the cat and the bunny.  

 

All three monsters ignored that voice.  Muffet sank her fangs into her lower lip, feeling the taste of dust enter her mouth.   **_This is what happens when you allow yourself to get emotional over anything,_ ** she thought bitterly, staring at her smashed cake.   **_But I helped make this mess, so I’ll help clean it up.  If one business deal goes sour you can also sweeten it up with another deal._ **  

 

“I read the packet Mettaton gave me.  There were instructions on how to reach NEW HOME without using the elevator.”

 

“N-NEW H-HOME?!  F-Frisk is a-at NEW HOME?!” A nasally wheezing voice asked from behind the pair of male monsters.

 

Nicey’s eyes softened once again and Muffet felt a bit of hope enter her SOUL once again.  Maybe after all this ends, maybe...Muffet shook the thought away.  No...she would never try something like this again.

 

“Can you give us the directions?”

 

Muffet nodded.  “The first step I remember was taking a right past the elevator and entering the CORE-”

 

Muffet’s words froze as Nicey wrapped an arm around her waist and then grabbed the cat monster around the waist too.  He took a deep breath and Muffet felt his magic coursing through his veins.  She was momentarily shocked by how strong his magic felt.  She looked down and saw his legs begin to shake insanely and started to glow a bright and vibrant blue, a shade lighter than his fur.  

 

“Hold on tight, lady.  This guy moves fast so you better talk fast too,” the cat advised.

 

Nicey took a step forward.

*********************************************************************************************

Alphys’ mouth flung open as the nice cream guy bolted away from the hotel room, carrying his two monster friends with him, leaving her, Undyne, Papyrus and Toriel behind without a word.  He was running so fast that he soon became a blur and within a second he was gone.  

 

The queen gave a low moan of fear and grabbed Alphys’ shoulder causing the small lizard to squeak.  The paw on her shoulder was gentle but undeniably firm.  

 

“You are the royal scientist aren’t you?  Can you fix the elevator, my dear?  That child cannot face Asgore.  They will be killed.  Please...can’t you do something?” The huge goat woman asked, her once strong voice losing its confidence.  

 

Alphys forced herself to look up at Toriel and saw that despite her straight and powerful posture, the goat lady’s pretty brown eyes were pleading for help.  

 

Alphys gulped and looked up at Undyne and Papyrus who were staring at her in the same manner.  They were all thinking the same thing:  If Frisk made it to Asgore, they would die.  They wouldn’t fight the king and the King wouldn’t stop until they were dead.  That was a fact.  

 

The familiar feeling of pressure, fear and anxiety hit Alphys so quickly she thought she would go into a panic mode at any moment.  But at this point having a panic attack was a luxury she couldn’t afford to have.  

 

She couldn’t fix the elevator in time. When she originally “broke” it, she broke it in so many different ways so that she could guide Frisk though the CORE and make herself look even more helpful and heroic to Frisk.

 

She viciously beat herself up mentally again, asking herself how at one point she ever thought that was a good idea.  She should have just been honest with Frisk.  Tried to convince them to stay.  Should have told them Asgore would stop at nothing until he got their SOUL.  

 

And fixing the elevator would take time.  Time they didn’t have.  But there was another way to reach NEW HOME…

 

 **_The lab’s elevator_ ** , she thought and looked up at Undyne.  

 

It had only been a half a day, but by now the whole kingdom probably knew what she had done to the fallen monsters that were brought to her.  What they became and what they suffered through because of her fears.  Because of her fears about being labeled a failure.  But Undyne…

 

Even when Alphys told Undyne what she had done, the fish monster didn’t leave her side.  Even though Undyne looked at her with disbelief and slight horror about the misery she subjected those poor monsters to, Undyne didn’t run away from her.  Held her when she cried.  Comforted her when she explained how much of a failure she really was, not only to Frisk, but to monsters.  

 

Before Papyrus came to get them, Undyne told her she did what she could and did what she thought was right even if it was the wrong choice.  Told her that in the end she did end up saving those monsters’ lives. And they were alive and living again, no matter what they looked like.  

 

But then again, Alphys never got the courage to show her her true lab.  She never even found the courage to re-entered the lab herself after Frisk discovered the amalgamates.  

 

 **_If I show her the place I forced those monsters to live in, she’ll really  understand my crimes against monsters.  She’ll hate me_ ** , Alphys thought as she stared up at the eyes of her only real friend left in the entire Underground.  

 

But…

 

Frisk….

 

Even now, the human was worth protecting...that human needed help and they needed help now!  So for once in her life, Alphys decided to be brave.  To do the right thing.

 

She grabbed Undyne’s hand and tugged the fish warrior in the direction of her lab.  

 

“There’s an elevator in my lab that will take us directly to NEW HOME.”

************************************************************************************************

Flowey smirked as he saw the sweat running down Sans’ skull.  He turned around as much as Sans’ blue magic would allow and his smirk got even bigger as the twenty Gaster Blaster were starting to flickering like the bad lights in Alphys’ hidden lab.  

 

While this silent standoff was taking way longer than Flowey was comfortable with, seeing as he needed to get to Asgore and Chara before Asgore hid the SOULs again, Sans was becoming predictable once again.

 

Flowey remembered every fight he had with Sans.  The same thing always happened.  After a while, Sans would exhausted himself from using too much magic and he’d start to sweat.  And he’d start to lose focus and then he’d fall asleep.

 

Judging by the way Sans was looking it wouldn’t be too long now.  Even in the lying position Flowey put him in, the flower monster easily saw the skeleton’s chest heaving painfully up and down and his breathing was getting a little heavy.  It was actually kind of sad.  

 

 **_The lazy fuck is getting exhausted without even attacking_ ** , Flowey thought gleefully as he felt Sans’ magical hold on him weaken a great deal.  

 

“Getting tired Sansy?  Why don’t you take a little nap?  I won’t do anything bad.  I promise,” Flowey said in a singsong voice, tightening his vines around his prisoner.   

 

To his annoyance, the short skeleton wheezed out a weak laugh.

 

“Nah pal, I’m...doing just...fine.”

 

Flowey felt Sans’ hold tightened on him once again and frowned.  Okay, maybe the idiot fuck still had some juice left in him.    

 

After a few moments of painful breathing the skeleton spoke again.

 

“So what’s...the deal between...you and Frisk?”

 

Flowey’s frowned deepened.  “Frisk?  Who the hell is Frisk?”

 

The skeleton laughed again and this time Flowey’s annoyance turned to rage.  He hated when somebody knew something he didn’t.  It hardly ever happened anymore these days, but when it did it made Flowey feel angry...and scared.  If he didn’t know everything by now then that meant something new was happening and if something new was happening that meant he had no control over it.

 

Just like Toriel leaving the RUINS early.  Or Chara finding Alphys’ lab too soon.  Or those freakish experiments being freed too soon.  Or monsters changing their opinions about humans on their own without guidance from a boss monster.  Or all this disgusting regret and depression that was filling the Underground.  

 

“Frisk?  Seriously bud, that’s...that’s the human’s name.”

 

Flowey’s frown turned to an angry scowl and even when he saw Sans struggle to keep his sockets open, the plant monster’s smug attitude vanished.  

 

The human was Chara!  They looked like Chara, they dressed like Chara, they had a red SOUL like Chara, therefore they’re Chara!  

 

NOT FRISK!  CHARA!  CHARA!  It had to be Chara.  Chara said they’d be back when they both died!   And it had to be them because Chara always kept their promises!  That human WAS NOT NAMED FRISK!

 

Flowey thought he would explode from his rage.  HOW DARE SANS?!  HOW DARE HE SAY THAT WASN’T CHARA!  Chara said they’d be back and now they were and Flowey wouldn’t be lonely anymore and Chara wouldn’t leave this time because Flowey would get the SOULS and they’d be TOGETHER AGAIN!

 

And through his rage, Flowey heard a loud and obnoxious sound.  Sans was snoring.  And all at once the small skeleton’s magic disappeared completely.  

 

Flowey smiled widely as he felt Sans’ magical hold leave his body and when he looked behind him the Blasters were gone.  

 

He moved closer to the sleeping skeleton, his hatred for the grinning trashbag intensifying.  His vines digging more deeply into Sans’ body.  

 

“That is Chara.  I know it is.  They wouldn’t leave me alone!  They wouldn’t-”

 

Something blue, sharp and fast went flying across his nose.  It took him only a second to recognize what it was.  Undyne’s spear.  

 

Flowey looked up to see Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus and Toriel standing in the doorway of the destroyed lab.  Undyne step forward summoning another spear.

 

“Get away from him, or I will have to use force.”

 

Flowey grunted as Papyrus made an attempt to calm down Undyne, telling her that was a friend of his.  He looked down at Sans, debating whether to take a gamble and kill Sans while avoiding Undyne’s spears or make a run for it.

 

Another spear came flying towards him, now coming directly at him.  He quickly unwrapped his body from Sans’ and went underground, heading for Asgore and CHARA...NOT FRISK, CHARA!  

*****************************************************************************************************

 

Frisk didn’t know how long they sat there, legs crossed, eyes closed, only a foot away from the murderous paralyzed king.  They had been hoping some of their energy would return so they could get up and find some help for the asshole, but as time passed they only felt themselves get more and more exhausted.

 

The six beautiful SOULs still hadn’t spoken to them directly, leading Frisk to believe Asgore’s victims were still too weak to do anything except slowly sip determination out of Frisk’s SOUL at a gentle pace.  

 

The slow, overly cautious and hesitant pace the SOULs were going at reassured Frisk that their six new friends were being extra careful so they wouldn’t completely drain Frisk’s SOUL.  Not that it matter to Frisk in the least.

 

...Frisk would give them all of their determination if that meant the six SOULs could finally be strong enough to leave this world for their hard-earned and long-awaited afterlives.  Frisk hoped that when they were able to leave they would see their family and friends again.

 

“What do you plan to do now, young one?”

 

Frisk’s kept their eyes closed, but they felt an annoyed and disgusted scowl come over their face as Asgore broke the growing silence.  The killer king’s voice sounded meek and it pissed Frisk off that he was still trying to put on that whole fake-ass facade that he was a “a gentle man who never wanted to hurt anybody.”  

 

But Frisk had to give the guy credit...he was a good actor.  A very very good actor, way better than Mettaton, and if Frisk hadn’t known he had slain six children in cold-blood, they may have actually felt terrible over the king’s permanent injuries...

 

But his question did send a wave of nervousness down their spine.  He would eventually find out about Nicey and BP and all the kind monsters who treated them so warmly and were accepting of them even after they learned Frisk was a human.  What would this killer do to them?  

 

This sick fuck not only allowed his equally sick and twisted royal scientist to experiment on their own kind, but he also allowed Alphys to keep Mrs. Snowdrake, Lemonbread, Big Doggy, those three floating faces and the Birdy monster prisoner inside a shitty lab with flickering lights, no fresh air and nobody to visit them.

 

And those monster didn’t even commit a crime!  Frisk shuddered as they imagined what would happen to BP, Nicey and the rest if Asgore ever found out how much those monster welcomed Frisk into their towns like they were one of their own.  

 

“None of your business, asshole.”

 

It was a childish remark, but Frisk couldn’t think of anything else to say.  Not that this guy deserved a thought-providing statement.  Fuck him.  

 

Frisk heard Asgore gulp before he spoke again.

 

“I was...I….don’t you desire to go back to the surface?”

 

Frisk’s mouth twitched and they finally opened their eyes to glare hatefully at the king.   Frisk felt  inner sort of relief when they saw Asgore was in the same position the SOULs left him in.   If he couldn’t move, he wouldn’t be able to hurt anybody anymore.   But then again, Frisk didn’t know if he could perform his magical fire attacks, but he hadn’t attack since the SOULs kicked his ass.  

 

 **_He’s probably worried I’ll finally attack him back if he does and won’t have a way to defend himself_ ** , Frisk thought and ignored his watery broken face as they spoke.  

 

“Nicey told-...um...I read that the only way I could cross the barrier and make it to the surface was to kill a monster and absorb their SOUL.”

 

The king paused for a brief second before he nodded his head, smiling sadly.  

 

“That’s what you must do, young one.”

 

Frisk rolled their eyes.  “Well, unfortunately for both of us, I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other cause I ain’t leaving.  Plus when I came here, my goal wasn’t really to bail  since I have no reason to go back.  I only came here to save the SOULs and my race from **_you_ **.”

 

The king’s eyes widened with disbelief and Frisk let out a dry and sarcastic laugh when they saw his expression.

 

“What?  Shocked that a human could be so merciful?  Or are you shocked about the idea of mercy in general?  I know this might be hard for you to understand, but there are some people out there, monsters and humans alike, who are actually horrified at the idea of killing another creature.  Believe me, I’ve met them.”

 

Frisk paused for a second, debating on whether to stop talking or keep going.  

 

“You know there are some of us out there who have been hurt just as badly as you and  don’t feel like they’re **_entitled_ ** to murdering and hurting innocent people.”

 

The king of all monster stared at Frisk as more tears filled his eyes.

 

 **_Just an act_ ** , Frisk thought coldly.   **_And man who kills and who had planned to kill so many more can’t feel sorrow.  He’s evil.  Just like Papyrus, Undyne, Sans, Shyren, Alphys and those bastard guards._ **

 

Finally Asgore let out a whimper.  Frisk felt their rage grow by the second every time they stared at his stupid furry sad face and wished they had stayed quiet.  

 

When they saw the first of his tears slowly fall down his face, staining his fur, Frisk lost it.

 

They moved their body flat on the ground, the rage and hatred temporarily overriding their exhausted body as they pushed their face so close to the king’s that his giant nose was touching their small one.  They were shocked about how fast they were.  They knew the king was surprised.  He let out a yelp of unexpected fear and closed his eyes, trembling waiting for an attack that would never come.  

 

“Stop acting sad already!  After killing six kids and planning to kill my whole race and killing me over and over and over again, do you honestly think that act is going to fool me?!”

 

More tears fell and Frisk fought every urge not to smack him across his big stupid face.

 

“At least Undyne was honest with herself and with me when we met.”

 

At the mention of Undyne’s name, Frisk saw the king’s broken face become haggard, but they continued even though there was a small part of their mind that was meekly telling them to leave him alone.  They fiercely ignored that voice.

 

“She flat out admitted that I deserved to die because I wasn’t part of **_your_ ** race and then she told me how awesome it was going to be when you became a god and would be able to bring misery, death and destruction to a group of people who had nothing to do with the war and had nothing to do with your son’s death!”

 

Asgore let out a shuddering sob and for one brief second, despite their best efforts to smother any sort of pity or sympathy for this monster, Frisk felt a small bit of misery bloom through their rage.  

 

Frisk bit their lip, trying their best to ignore that weak part of their mind that was begging them to lean down and wipe the tears from his face since the paralyzed king couldn’t do it himself.

 

Frisk didn’t wipe his tears away.  He didn’t deserve that.  They did however pulled themselves away the king, sitting cross legged again.  The asshole kept whimpering and sobbing for a bit more and then managed to get himself under control enough to start talking.  

 

“I...I...my people deserve to be free,” he finally said.  “When my adopted child died, our hopes of freedom died along with them.”

 

Frisk raised an eyebrow.  When Nicey told them the story of Asriel and the first fallen human, he didn’t mention anything like that.  Frisk just assumed the death of the monster prince was the final straw for the once kindly king.

 

**_The once kindly king…_ **

 

**_I know he sucks hard, but be a little nicer to him.  What’s the worse that can happen?_ **

 

Frisk stiffened at the sudden suggestion that stupid timid voice whispered inside their head.  They quickly shook their head, disgusted that there was still a part of them that still felt any sort of sympathy for him.  When was that voice gonna just shut up for good…?  

 

Be nice to him?  Why?  

 

Frisk took another look at the king, hoping their hatred for the monster would smother and destroy that small amount of pain in their chest.   They hoped that when they looked in his eyes, they’d see the look of a killer.  Frisk hoped that they would see the hidden glimmer of somebody that belonged in the darkest part of a nightmare with a SOUL so black it would make the nighttime look as bright as the sun.  

 

….All Frisk saw was a beaten monster that wasn’t even staring at them anymore.  His tears were dripping unto the floor at a slow but steady pace.

 

 **_He’s faking it_ ** , Frisk furiously thought, trying to stop the pain in their chest that was growing at an alarming race.  

 

If Frisk could, they would run away just like they did with Shyren, 01 and 02, Papyrus and Alphys, and Undyne, and Mettaton...but they couldn’t.  They were so tired.  And the SOULS were draining them or energy.  And so they sat there, holding their head in their hands as they desperately tried to convince themselves that he was not worthy of any but hatred.  

 

**_He’s faking, he’s faking, he’s faking, he’s got to be faking, he hates humans, kills innocent people, imprisons his own people, he’s faking, there’s nothing but hate and coldness in him…_ **

 

**_But he wasn’t also like that._ **

 

Goddamn it!  Why couldn’t that stupid voice stop?!  Frisk gritted their teeth as they forced themselves to acknowledge the fair point their weaker side was making.  

 

Okay, fine….maybe once upon a time he was a great guy and a merciful king.  But just because he and his people were punished by hateful and cruel humans in the past, were put in a hole for hundreds of years, lost his children, was abandoned by his wife, was probably lonely and desperate…

 

Even despite all that, he has NO right to be the jury, judge, executioner for an entire race of people that had nothing to do with the tragedies his suffered.  Nobody has a right to decide who lives and dies in this world…nobody should have the power he tried to get with the six SOULs...nobody should feel entitled to having that power...

 

**_But everybody has their breaking point.  If you can’t be nice you can at least be civil to him._ **

 

Frisk licked their lips uneasily as the soft and gentle voice spoke again.  They supposed it wouldn’t hurt to be...civil with him.  Show him that they were better than him.

 

“W..what are you talking a-about?  How did your hope die when your children died?”

 

He swallowed.

 

“We monsters have a prophecy that one day somebody who fell from the surface will fall down here and set us free.  When Chara and Asriel died I knew there was no truth to that prophecy and so did so many other monsters.  We had no hope of leaving this prison when Chara died.  Unless...we monsters could gather seven human SOULS.  With that power monsters would be free and live in a world without the fear of another human attack.  That became our new hope.” Asgore looked at Frisk timidly.

 

Frisk gently touched their chest, feeling the six SOULS gently nuzzling against their own SOUL.  Six innocent kids who were sentenced to death because of “hope.”  

 

And then Frisk thought of the millions of humans that lived on the surface:  the young, the old, the physically and mentally handicapped, people who were sick, women expecting to give birth, doctors, mailmen, mothers, fathers, cashiers, fast food workers, policemen, holy men and women of the many different churches on the surface, college kids, ice cream sellers, teachers, scientists, the rich, the poor, babies still sleeping in their cradles, small toddlers that slept with their parents because they were afraid of the dark and so many more.  

 

If Asgore’s “hope” had become a reality all those people would have been killed without a second thought.  

 

The hand that was on Frisk’s chest started to tremble as they thought of all those people who were innocent of any crimes against monsters.  And all of them had been handed down the death penalty from this brutish monster of a king.

 

But...

 

The monsters.  There were so many good monsters living Underground who were innocent too.  Nicey and BP who took them into their home.  Sweet motherly Toriel who tried to protect them.  Bratty and Chatty, the cute sales-women, the energetic and lovable dog pack, the shy Blooky who loved music, old Gerson, the Snowdrakes, the froggits from the RUINS...

 

...MK…

 

MK...Frisk’s heart swelled with a deep love when they thought of their first real friend after they left Toriel.  They really wanted him to see the surface.  Wanted them both to play in the real sun and watch the stars together.  

 

Frisk looked at Asgore.  His tears had stopped falling, but he didn’t look any better or stronger.  He was staring at the ground in a strange sad daze.

 

“My people deserve to be free,” he repeated softly.

 

Frisk found themselves nodded their head even though he didn’t see it.  They didn’t hate themselves for agreeing with him on this issue.  Monsters deserved to be just as free as humans.  There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  

 

“Yeah...yeah...they do Asgore, but humans deserve to live.”

 

As Frisk said that they trailed their hand over their chest again and a seed of an idea began to grow in their exhausted minds.  Maybe there was still a chance for monsters…If Frisk could convince the SOULs…

 

“I know that.”

 

They felt like their heart was going to explode from those two simple words.  He knew that humans deserved to live?!

 

“Then why-”

 

“If I didn’t think about it, killing those kids wasn’t so bad.  If I don’t think about all the innocent humans that were gonna die, the task becomes easier.  It’s a coward’s way to do things, but I am a coward.”

 

 **_He’s lying, he just enjoyed it but is afraid that I’ll kill him if he admits it_ ** , Frisk thought weakly but now it was becoming harder and harder to believe that.  His voice...how can somebody fake that make shame and that much regret?

 

They looked him straight in the eyes.

 

“I can’t be that way.  I can’t not think about the monsters who are stuck down here.  There are so many monster here that are so good.  So gentle and so kind and they do deserve to be free.”

 

There was a horrible silence. And then...

 

“Even...after all you’ve been through...you can say that…?”

 

Frisk closed their eyes again, opting not to stare at the king or his big fat stupid crybaby face anymore.  

 

“Yeah...y’know Asgore, I ain’t gonna mention any names or anything, but despite your best efforts to turn monsters into human-hating machines,  there’s a lot of them that did show me a lot of love.  A lot of mercy. And a lot of compassion.  ”

 

The silence stretched.  Frisk was curious to see the king’s reaction, but they kept their eyes closed.  The exhaustion was making it hard for them to do anything but sit there and even that was becoming a near impossible task.  It took all their determination to not lie down.

 

“Did they figure out you were human?”

 

Frisk frowned uncomfortably at his tone.  They had been expected anger, disbelief, rage, that whole “If I find out who they are I’ll kill them” rant, but none of those things were expressed in the king’s voice.

 

If Frisk didn’t know anybody, Asgore sounded...hopeful.  Frisk cautiously opened one eye and was taken by surprise by the king’s new reaction.  His head was back up and he was staring at them with such intensity.  His eyes were wide and it looked like he was holding his breath.

 

His expression reminded Frisk of a child who was listening to their parents tell them about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.  

 

And as Frisk continued to stare down at the king, even they had to admit that while a lot of people could fake being sad or being remorseful, there was no way even the best actor in the whole world could fake the hope and wonderment that was on Asgore’s face.  Whatever was going through Asgore’s head was genuine.  

 

The only question was...why was he making that expression?  Frisk realized they must have been taking too long.

 

“Tell me!”

 

Frisk jumped at the sudden impatient tone that now held just a little bit of strength to it.  And there was so much desperate hope in it too.

 

“Yeah Asgore,” they answered, feeling a deep glow of love coming from their SOUL for all those monsters.  And for one second Frisk felt the SOULs stop suckling their SOUL almost as though they could feel it too.

 

Frisk looked down at Asgore and smiled.  Their SOUL shined with determination.  

 

“They figured out I was human and guess what?  They didn’t want to kill me even though they knew I was the last SOUL they needed to be free.  And guess what again:  I have friends...a lot of monster friends and even though you tried to make them hate all humans, when it all came down to the wire the monsters couldn’t bring themselves to do it!”

 

Frisk laughed at him and laughed at the way his lips began to twitch.  

 

“You know what’s so funny?  All it took was somebody like me, a small pathetic human,  to undo all those years of hate-filled human propaganda you fed to your people.  Man, that must sting!”

 

The monster looked away, his shoulders were shaking almost as though he were crying.  Frisk started to laugh and cry at the same time.  They were laughing because it was so funny.  They were crying because they realized how fucked up all of this was.  

 

“Asgore, I just thought of something!  A normal monster SOUL really must be made out of compassion, love and mercy because all it took was for most of them to changed was to see that one human wasn’t a complete asshole and bam,” Frisk snapped their fingers to illustrate their point.  “All that hatred was vomited up!  I guess a **_normal_ ** monster SOUL can’t hold hate!”

 

Frisk’s continued to laugh until they heard the strange deep sounds coming from the king.  They were bleating sounds.  Loud, booming bone shattering bleating sounds that shook Frisk to the core.  

 

When Asgore finally looked back, Frisk was shocked to see a huge childlike smile stretched across the king’s face.  His eyes were shining so brightly and his laughter echoed against the walls of the barrier.  

 

With the last of their energy, Frisk scrambled away for the laughing king, unsure of what the hell was happening.  

 

“Thank you, young one!  That’s the best news I’ve heard in years!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!”

 

**_What?_ **

 

“There can still be hope!  Monsters can still have hope!”

 

Asgore continued to laugh as a stream of happy tears fell from his face.

 

**_He’s happy?!  He’s happy that his people don’t want to kill humans?!  Why would that make him happy?  He should be enraged!  He shouldn’t be laughing!_ **

 

Unless...he really was telling the truth...about everything…but this could all just be a big performance.  But Frisk knew it wasn’t.  They finally realized as they watched him laugh, the hope ringing throughout his voice, that he never had been lying.

 

The king was happy.  Happy about how his monsters didn’t want his plan to be carried out.  He was happy about that they were still hopeful even if they didn’t know how they would be getting out.  

 

Frisk would have put their hands over their ears to block out the king’s happy and hopeful laughter.  But the damage was done.  And the realization of what Asgore truly was sank in.  

 

He was a monster who had been broken badly.  Who lost everything and made one bad decision and couldn’t take it back because he truly did believed that if he did he’d be taking away the only shred of hope his people had.  Even if that hope was disgusting and evil.  He had to keep it alive because he thought that was the **_only type of hope_ ** left in his world.  

 

They tried so desperately to hold unto their hate, but Frisk felt it slip away.  


	20. The SOULs (final chapter)

Asgore watched as the human’s lovely and shiny locks of brown hair fell into their face.  

 

His joy, that rare amount of joy that had entered his SOUL when the human delivered their speech about the kindness that still lingered in monsters hadn’t vanished, but when he saw the human’s face, their little and innocent exhausted face, he felt an enormous amount of guilt and regret ripping through his ruined and mutilated SOUL.

 

What he had done to those children...what he had done to this human...what he couldn’t take back...

 

They hadn’t said a word.  Not one single word since he had thanked them for their wonderful and hopeful news.  

 

And their eyes...all that hatred that they had had or him, that he deserved and would have gladly taken if it eased even the smallest amount of pain in their SOUL was no longer shining brightly in their eyes.  However, as Asgore stared at the human, he saw nothing in their eyes.   Nothing...no hatred, no pain, no relief, no happiness, no sense of accomplishment...no nothing...except a look of person who had...who had had enough.

 

If he could move, he would have crawled closer to them and brushed their hair out of their eyes and would have held them and maybe he could have offered them some tea and tell them stories about Asriel and Chara and and and and...Asgore mentally shook his head.  

 

No.  No, he had no right to comfort them or offer words of love and hope.  He had no right to talk to them like he was their friend.  Not after what he did to them.  Gerson had been right...Asgore had no right to know anything about his victims.  He didn’t even know their name.

 

But those eyes...those dead eyes that were staring at nothing….

 

Asgore swallowed nervously.  He didn’t know what he was gonna say but anything was better than this terrible silence.

 

“I...I’m...I’m sorry, young one.  I’m so so so sorry.”

 

The human’s eyes flickered towards him and Asgore had a hard time keeping eye-contact with them.   Those tired eyes were staring at him but not really looking at him.  It was like having a doll staring at him.  

 

“Yeah...yeah I know Asgore.  I know you’re sorry.”

 

Their voice. There was nothing resembling hatred or mockery in their tone, but...like their eyes there was nothing in their voice at all.  It sounded soft and small and weak and tired.  It wasn’t fiery or lively like it had been a few moments ago.  Their voice didn’t even sound alive.  

 

Dead eyes and a dead voice.  Asgore felt more guilt and self-hatred infest his SOUL.  

 

 **_That’s not how a child should look.  That’s not how a child should sound_ ** , he thought.  The panic and concern grew in him as the human continued to stare at him with that terrible expression. **_I did that_ ** , he thought. **_I...I...I did that._ **  

 

“I...What’s your name, child?”

 

An equally dead smile crossed their lips.  The dread and concern and self-hatred and regret was overwhelming now.

 

“Kind of late for that, huh Asgore?”

 

**_You ain’t got no right to know nuthin ‘bout them children Asgore!  You ain’t got no right to know nuthin’ ‘bout the people ya hurt!  Now git out of my shop and don’t come back!_ **

 

Gerson’s words entered his mind and he flinched visibly as the memory of those harsh words cut him like a sharp knife.  Apparently the child noticed his pained expression because he felt a small and gentle hand tap the top of his head.  He quickly looked up to see the human had moved closer to him.

 

“Are you hurting or something?”

 

Asgore shook his head, wondering how a child who had been through so much could still be so gentle.  But then that dead smile widened on their face.  

 

“Those SOULS really hate you Asgore.”

 

Asgore smiled sadly and nodded his head as the human pulled away and went to lay on the ground, nestling their head in their arms as a makeshift pillow.  

 

“You can go upstairs in my home and rest-”

 

The human chuckled emotionlessly as they closed their eyes.  

 

“Too tired to walk at the moment, plus I trashed your house pretty bad trying to look for the SOULS.  Good luck cleaning that shit up.”

 

Asgore laughed quietly, but in his mind he prayed that his children’s room remained untouched.  Just the way Chara and Asriel left it before....before they died.

 

 “That’s okay-”

 

The human opened one eye and to Asgore’s relief a spark of anger flashed in their eyes.  “I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re okay with it or not.  Right now I have more important things to think about, like how am I going to convince six SOULS that not all monsters are big pieces of shit like you Asgore, or like Undyne or Alphys or Papyrus or Sans.”

 

The human closed their open eye again and a second later they were snoring.  

 

Asgore blinked as their words sank in.  The SOULS...they were gonna try to convince the SOULS to break the Barrier?!  Even after...even after everything they’ve been through?  Even after everything Asgore put them through?!  

 

He let out  a small bit of laughter.  Yes!  His people could be free, his people would get the freedom they deserve.  There could be a happy ending after all!  They could all be happy-

 

**_We want all monsters to see you live your life like this.  Let them know what will happen to them if they try to absorb another human SOUL!_ **

 

And suddenly there was real burst of pain from his SOUL reminding Asgore of what the six human SOULS had done to him.  And their horrible laughter and how happy they all sounded when they were finished torturing him.

 

 **_No,_ ** he thought grimly as he watched the human sleep.   **_That’s just a fantasy.  The only thing I can do is take back my declaration against humanity and try to make amends to my people for what I did to them.  And make amends to this human...if they let me..._ **

 

The light snoring from the human made him wish he could move and cradle them in his arms so they weren’t sleeping on the hard floor.  

 

But he couldn’t move.  So he just laid there.

*****************************************************************************************************

Flowey grunted as he pushed himself out of the soil to see where he was.  His eyes widened in shock.

 

“What the fuck…?”

 

He was in his old bedroom.  Only it was completely ripped apart, tore up from the floor up.  The dusty toys that were once neatly put in the toy chest was thrown all over the floor.  Chara and his old clothes were all torn off the hangers and the sheets had been pulled from the beds and the gifts…

 

The gifts had been torn open.  And Flowey felt relieved.  For the first time in a long time, Flowey felt an amazing sense of relief and a ghost feeling of happiness wash over him when he saw the bits of wrapping paper litter the floor and the empty gift boxes.

 

The gifts had both been address to Chara as “GET WELL” presents from his parents and so it would only be naturally that CHARA NOT FRISK opened the gifts and took what was inside because they belonged to CHARA...NOT FRISK!  

 

“Stupid skeleton,” Flowey muttered, smirking to himself as he looked around the room.  “Doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.  It’s Chara!  Not Frisk...not…”

 

He spotted his father’s gardening knife on the floor near the bed and a small bit of his relief left him as he stared at the tool.  

 

 **_Chara didn’t take it_ ** , he thought.  He looked at the wrapping paper again as a realization hit him.  He laughed feeling stupid. **_Of course Chara didn’t take the knife.  I was the one who was into gardening.  CHARA probably thought the gift was meant for me!  That’s why I didn’t take it!  But the necklace!  They definitely took the necklace-_ **

 

A gleaming golden shiny light caught the corner of his eye and Flowey turned towards the bed, the relief and rare bit of happiness fading fast when he realized that the golden heart necklace had been carelessly tossed under the bed.

 

He reached his viney arm out and grabbed it, holding it up to his face.  The name “CHARA” had been engraved into the gold.  Flowey grounded his teeth together, revealing a set of fangs as the gold merrily glittered waiting patiently for it’s owner to put it around their neck.

 

 **_Chara didn’t take it.  Chara would have taken it_ ** , Flowey thought as his grip tightened on the piece of jewelry.   

 

Frisk...Frisk wouldn’t have taken it because it wasn’t addressed to them.  Frisk...no…!  Chara promised they would come back!

 

Flowey growled as he stared down at the locket.  Something began to sting his eyes.  

 

“Frisk...fuck!  CHARA...CHARA...CHARA just doesn’t remember who they are!” Flowey declared desperately as he stared at his old stuffed animals angrily as though he were daring them to argue.  Their wide and happy smiles greeted him.

 

Flowey smiled gleefully as the stinging sensation in his eyes increased and his throat began to tighten.  If somebody had been listening to him, they would have said the flower was on the verge of breaking into sobs.

 

“That’s right!  They forgot!  When I first came back I had to remember who I was too!  CHARA just needs to remember who they are!  When I absorb the SOULs I can help them remember who they are and everything can be like it was before-”

 

“That motherfucking robot piece of shit, I’ll kill him when this is all over!  I can’t believe you even talked Muffet into helping him!  I would have fucking left him in that elevator Nicey!  And look at this pigsty!  You’d think the king would take better care of his home.  Guess he stopped giving a fuck when his wife bailed.”

 

Flowey’s smile shattered off his face as he heard a very familiar voice coming from the living room.  The voice speaking at the moment definitely belonged to that fucking loser Burgerpants. And was he talking to Nicey?  Nicey was here too?!

 

**_What the fuck are those defects doing here?!  Where’s Toriel, Alphys, Undyne, Papyrus and Sans?_ **

 

Flowey frowned as he heard deep raspy breathing, almost as though one of them were fighting to regain their breath.  

 

“FRISK?!  FRISK?!  PLEASE COME OUT IF YOU’RE HERE! ANSWER ME!” Flowey heard Nicey gasp out.  

 

The flower monster nearly crushed the gold locket into shiny yellow dust.  NOT FRISK!  CHARA!  THEIR NAME IS CHARA!

 

“COME ON OUT YOU LITTLE SHIT SO I CAN BREAK YOUR FUCKING LEGS!  THE FUCK ARE YOU ALWAYS RUNNING AWAY FOR?!”

 

Silence greeted the two imbeciles and Flowey heard one of them slam their foot heavily on the floor while the other groaned miserably.

 

“Fuck me if they ain’t here, they must be at the barrier with Asgore!” The fastfood loser stated.  Flowey heard the panic overtaking the cat monster’s fake anger.  

 

Flowey went back underground and headed for the barrier.  All he needed was the SOULs.  If he could get to the SOULs then he could make everything right again.  He could help CHARA remember, but he needed to get to the SOULs.  

 

He poked his head back above ground when he felt himself hit the invisible wall preventing him from going any further.  The barrier.  He knew he was at the barrier…

 

He took a deep breath and pushed himself up.  This was for CHARA.  Everything he did was always for CHARA.  

 

And the first thing he saw was a big massive lump of something.  His eyes widened when he realized who it was:  Asgore. Asgore was laying down with his back to Flowey.

 

**_WHAT...THE...FUCK…?_ **

 

Upon closer inspection, Flowey saw Asgore was breathing, showing the plant monster that CHARA hadn’t killed the goat boss...but...but

 

Why was Asgore lying on the floor?  And why was CHARA on the ground sleeping?

 

...IT DIDN’T MATTER!

 

Flowey desperately looked around the room, ignoring the sea of voices coming from Asgore’s pathetic garden. The voices didn’t matter.  The only things that mattered were Chara and the SOULs.  That’s all that ever mattered.  But...

 

**_Where were the SOULs?_ **

 

**_Where the hell were the SOULs?  Where the FUCK were the SOUL-_ **

 

Flowey felt everything leave his body when he saw the empty glass cases that once held the SOULs.  He didn’t hear the crowd of monsters rush into the room.  He didn’t hear them call out the wrong name to his best friend.  He didn’t even feel Undyne grabbed the base of his stem and pull him out of the ground, roots and all.

 

He didn’t hear her questions demanding him to tell her who he was and why he trashed the lab and attacked the smiling trash bag Sans.  He didn’t feel anything or hear anything.  The only thing he saw...really saw were those empty glass cases.

 

They…

 

The SOULs…

 

The SOULs...were...gone…

 

And finally he pulled his eyes away from that awful sight and turned towards CHARA who was being picked up by that pathetic and insignificant nice cream salesman and when Toriel tried to touch CHARA, the bunny monster turned away from her holding CHARA tighter to his chest.

 

“Chara…” Flowey whispered to his sleeping best friend.  

 

And for once in his life, Flowey hoped for something.  He hoped that CHARA would wake up at the sound of their name.  He hoped they would look at him and remember who they were.  

 

But the human never stirred.

 

And Flowey failed CHARA once again.  

 

************************************************************************************************

Frisk felt themselves being cradled.  The arms were gentle, warm and loving.  Frisk smiled, feeling a few tears of pure happiness gather around the corners of their eyes as they nuzzled into the body that was holding them.  

 

They knew they were dreaming.  They knew it had to be a dream because there was only one person in the whole world who hugged Frisk like that and she was gone.  Dead and gone.  Dead, gone and buried.  

 

But still, that didn’t stop them from enjoying the dream.  

 

“Mama…” Frisk said and waited to hear the sound of their mother’s voice.  Instead they heard a chorus of childish and sweet giggles.  Frisk opened their eyes and the first thing that greeted them was a bright splash of orange.  Namely an orange bandana tied around a kid’s neck.  

 

 **_Where have I seen that bandana before_ ** , Frisk thought and looked at the owner’s face.  They felt their heart skip a beat.  They assumed it was a boy, but his face....his face was blurry.  They were able to see a nose, eyes and a smiling mouth, but his expression was grainy and unclear, reminding Frisk’s of photos that have been blown up in size.  The faces always came out wrong and hard to see.  

 

“Mama?  Come on kid, I’m not that old and I ain’t even a girl.”

 

More laughter entered Frisk’s ears and they looked around.  The orange bandana kid was sitting cross-legged, holding Frisk is his lap, while five more kids sat around the two of them.  Like orange kid, the five other kids’ faces were just as blurry and as unfocused as his was.  

 

A strongly built girl with a dark blue tutu, a tiny girl with a light blue ribbon in her hair, a skinny boy with purple glasses, a tall girl with a yellow cowboy hat and a boy with a short green apron all sat around Frisk in a circle.

 

When Frisk realized who these kids were, they also realized this was more than just a dream.  Frisk smiled up at Orange and then turned to smile at each kid.

 

“You’re the six SOULs aren’t ya?”

 

“That’s right, kid.  How are you feeling?” Orange asked, squeezing them gently.  

 

“Tired.  Really really tired.”

 

And in all honestly Frisk really was tired.  In fact, they were fighting to stay conscious, which was kind of funny to them.  Who ever heard of falling asleep when you are already asleep?

 

Purple nodded his head, wheezing out a nervous and shameful laugh.  “Yeah...thank you again.  For coming for us.  And for saving us.”

 

Frisk smiled and reached a hand towards him.  Purple eagerly took it.  His hand was so warm, almost sweaty and it trembled as Frisk ran their thumb over his skin.  They were amazed.  They knew these kids were SOULs without bodies, but Orange’s arms felt so strong and Purple’s hand was so gentle.  It felt so real.  

 

“It was the least I could do.  You guys saved humanity.  Saving you is the least I can do.”

 

Dark Blue smiled.  “Yeah well...you didn’t give up on us.  You didn’t even know us and you came for us.”

 

Green reached over and ruffled Frisk’s hair.  Frisk felt his warmth and love flowing through his fingers.  

 

“That’s some impressive gift you got there.  It seems to me that God might have brought you down here for a reason.  HE wouldn’t just give anybody the gift of coming back over and over again if he didn’t have a particular reason for it.”

 

Frisk thought of the monsters as his words sank in.  Maybe...maybe he was right.  When Nicey told Frisk Asgore’s tragic story, he went into great detail about how invested, loyal and dedicated monsters were with Asgore’s plans.  And how all monsters prayed that humans would fall into the Underground so they can be killed for their SOULs.  But now…

 

There were so many monsters that didn’t want that anymore.  They just wanted to be free.  And from what Frisk knew, there was only way that the monsters could gain the freedom they so badly deserved.

 

“There’s something I want to talk to you all about.”

 

Yellow sighed.  “We know.”

 

Light Blue nodded.  “We felt it.  We all felt it.”

 

Frisk gulped as all six blurry faced children stared down at them.  They couldn’t see the other kids’ expressions, but Frisk felt everything become colder in the room.  But they had to make them understand!  If they could explain to these six SOULs that monsters do deserve freedom.

 

“Look I know you don’t have a great opinion of monsters-”

 

“Understatement of the century, kid,” Orange muttered.

 

“Yeah, they can die for all I care.  Fuck them for what they did to us and what they did to you and what they were planning to do with all humans.  Frisk, Asgore the king of all monsters, killed us simply because we weren’t part of his race and killed you so many times,” Dark Blue declared.

 

Light Blue giggled.  It was unpleasant to listen to.  “I’m glad Asgore’s gonna have to have somebody wipe his ass and spoon feed him from now on.”  

 

As the other SOULs laughed, Frisk pulled themselves out of Orange’s lap.  They had to make them understand!

“Please listen to me.  The monsters...the monsters..They’ve changed!  A lot of them are my friends now!  There are two monsters who are taking care of me.  They are letting me in their home and are even feeding me!  Some of the monsters who once attacked me are now in a group dedicated to forcing Asgore to change his decree against humanity!  Monsters who were in the Royal Guard!”

 

Dark Blue snorted.  “And I’m guessing Undyne, the great and powerful and self-righteous captain of the Royal Guard is a member of that group?”

 

Frisk winced and stood up, feeling the exhaustion and their panic get worse.  The six SOULs stood up as well.  How Frisk wished they could see their faces to know what they were thinking.

 

“Listen please!  I’m not gonna deny there are still some terrible monsters out there, but...but...you can’t just take horrible and murderous monsters like Alphys, Undyne and Asgore and declare that all monsters are like them!  That’s like saying all humans are like the humans who started the war and who killed Asgore’s children.  It’s not fair!  It’s not fair-”

 

Frisk tumbled as the exhaustion got worse, but before they could hit the ground, Green caught them and once again, they found themselves on the lap of an older boy, being cuddled.  

 

“Easy.  Easy.  You made your point.  But you need to prove it to us,” Green said softly, stroking Frisk’s hair soothingly.

 

Frisk stared at his green apron.  “Prove it?”  

 

“Yeah.  When you get better, take us around and show us that monsters aren’t as bad as we think they are.  Give us a reason to free them.  Does that sound fair?”

 

Frisk nodded and gave a small sob of relief.  At least there was one SOUL who was on their side.  Maybe he would be the one to help convince the others.

 

“Yes.  Thank you!  I’ll show you all that there are some really good monsters out there.”

 

Green chuckled.  “Calm down, let’s not get excited.  Just rest up.”

 

Frisk smiled, clinging to his waist as they finally fell into a deep deep sleep.

***************************************************************************************************

 

The SOULs watched as Frisk’s chest started to move up and down slowly before they resumed their circle around the sleeping child.

 

Green cradled Frisk tighter to his chest and calmly looked at the angered faces of his companions.  

 

Orange glared at him.  “Are you out of your Goddamn mind?  What proof do you need?  Those fuckers killed us for nothing and kept us in glass jars for years.”

 

“Experimented on us.  God, the pain was so unbearable,” Light Blue groaned, hugging herself.

 

“Makin’ us pay for the sins of our ancestors.  Plannin’ on makin’ all humans pay for what past humans did,” Yellow muttered, wrapping an arm around Light Blue who had started trembling.

 

Dark Blue grabbed Frisk’s hand and held it protectively in her own hand.  “Those monsters cheered when Undyne killed me.  I heard them.  I HEARD THEM!  You actually think monsters can change that quickly from being brutal beasts to gentle “let’s all hug and be friends” beings?  They’re fucking playing this kid and they’re falling for it!”

 

Green sighed and began to speak in a calm and reasonable voice.  “Will you all relax already?  I had to say something to calm the kid down.  You want your life support unplugged?”

 

The SOULs didn’t respond.   Green spoke again, running a hand through Frisk’s hair.  

 

“I’m worried about this kid.  This delusional mindset they have about how most monsters are good is going to hurt them hard in the end and-”

 

“There m-might be a little c-credibility to their claim though.”

 

All the SOULs snapped their heads to Purple who was playing with his glasses.  His hands were shaking and he gulped before he started speaking again.

 

“I..I m-mean, none of you can’t deny what we all s-s-saw a second ago.  That b-bunny monster thing was p-protecting Frisk.  And if o-one mo-monster is d-doing th-that, it w-wouldn’t b-be irrational to a-assume that more m-monster m-might b-be like th-that too.”

 

None of the SOULs said anything for a few seconds until Green offered a wide and friendly smile in Purple’s direction.

 

“Hey, I’m not saying that all monsters are evil, because that wouldn’t be fair.  I mean, we all met Toriel and she was amazing and probably one of the nicest people I have ever met.  And the monsters in the RUINS, like those cutie Froggits were pretty gentle too.”

 

Begrudgingly the SOULs began to nod in agreement.

 

“And Gerson too.” Purple said quickly, staring Green right in the eyes.  

 

Green smiled.  “Of course there’s Gerson too...all of us that were lucky enough to meet Gerson came to realize that that old turtle was not only kind but also knew we were human.”

 

Yellow smirked  “Yeah, monsters were either kind to us because they didn’t know we were human or hated us because they knew we were human and Gerson was an exception.”

 

Green nodded.  “Exactly.  He was an **_exception_ ** to monsterkind **_._ ** Much like Toriel or that bunny fellow are.  And unfortunately for Frisk, they’re young and too gentle, too pacifistic, and too hopeful to tell the difference between the monsters that are sincere in their kindness and the ones that are just messing with them.”

 

Purple frowned.  “How are the monsters messing with them?  Frisk said that monsters are no longer trying to attack them.”

 

Green’s smile because slightly condescending.  

 

“Let me ask you something:  Suppose you are a big dumb bloodthirsty beast, let’s call you a monster, and you are attacking an innocent child who doesn’t even come up past your knees and who won’t fight back.  You kill them, easy enough right?  They come back.  You kill them again.  And again and again and again.  At some point wouldn’t you start to get tired?  Wouldn’t you start to...hmm...I don’t know, get worried that this enemy might snap and start attacking back?  And since they can’t die, they’ll just keep coming back and attacking you until you’re so weak and injured that you eventually die?”

 

Purple frowned as Orange grunted in agreement.

 

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying, pal.  Frisk kept coming back so the weaker monsters offered “friendship” to them in the hopes that one of the bigger monsters would eventually take them down.”

 

Green snapped his fingers pointing to Orange.  “Exactly.  And now that they know they can’t forcefully absorb our SOULs without...hehehe...dire consequences, they’re probably gonna try to screw Frisk up even more.”

 

“You mean like, they’re gonna try to guilt trip Frisk into giving up their SOUL willingly?”  Dark Blue asked, covering her mouth in horror.

 

Green nodded, his mouth tightening.  “That’s exactly what I mean.  And if Frisk gives up their SOUL willingly, one of those beasts will be able to pass the barrier and use the same sob story they used on Frisk to gain the humans’ sympathies.”

 

“And the humans will try to break the barrier if they think the monsters are kind creatures,” Orange followed.

 

“And the monsters will be free to attack humanity and more innocent people will die.” Light Blue finished.

 

Green handed over the sleeping child over to Orange and stood up.  He fiddled his apron.

 

“We have to get this kid out of this hellhole and fast before it comes to that, but we need to regain a little bit of our strength first.  So I suggest we...humor the kid for right now.  Let them talk and show us around and maybe we can figure out a way to get Frisk out of here.”

  


Yellow laughed bitterly.  “How are we gonna help them leave?  You know Frisk isn’t gonna kill a monster right?”

 

A dark and bleak smile came over Green’s face.  

 

“I’ll think of something.  I will not allow another innocent life to be lost to these abominations.  I will not make the same mistake I made when I was alive.”

 

There was darker silence that followed Green’s speech.  The only sound was Frisk’s soft snoring.  

 

“I can’t afford to be kind anymore.  It didn’t work.  IT NEVER worked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but that's it! I don't expect any more to come out, considering. See you in my next delve into Google Cache for "Hello Our Child", whenever I get to it.


End file.
